The Government has launched a new digital training, advice and support service that will enable small businesses to take advantage of opportunities in e-commerce as they recover from the global economic impact of COVID-19.

A new digital training, advice and support service will enable small businesses to take advantage of opportunities in e-commerce as they recover from the global economic impact of COVID-19.

The public-private partnership has been launched to improve access to digital technology and training for small businesses, to take advantage of new opportunities through e-commerce.

Small Business Minister Stuart Nash joined business, corporate and industry leaders to launch the 20-member Digital Boost Alliance at The Mind Lab in Auckland.

Greater use of digital technology will be a hallmark of commerce in the future, yet many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle to embrace new tools because they are so busy focusing on their core business.

“Supporting small businesses is a key plank in our five-point plan for our economic recovery and this programme delivers on our manifesto commitment,” Stuart Nash says.

“Aotearoa New Zealand is consistently ranked as one of the easiest places in the world to do business. However, there is more we can do to back small businesses in their work.

“Over the next two years this Labour Government will invest $44 million in continuing the Digital Boost – business training courses for SMEs, and providing new digital business advisory services to help Digital Boost graduates adopt digital ways of working in their businesses.”

The training, advice and support services will be delivered by private sector specialists and are modelled on the Digital Boost programme.

“The Digital Boost Training Programme will assist 30,000 SMEs, and the new advisory service will support 15,000 SMEs to change their businesses per year. 

“It will grow the digital skills and capabilities of the workforce, improve productivity and create more resilient businesses.

“Greater adoption of digital skills and processes will help businesses and their staff to keep working safely through potential future disruptions or civil defence emergencies.

“Digital commerce also contributes to a higher wage, higher productivity and lower carbon economy and builds our brand as a safe and secure place to live, invest, trade, visit and do business,” Stuart Nash says.

The digital commerce initiatives follow an announcement last week that the Government is reducing merchant service fees for small businesses. 

This is estimated to result in savings of approximately $74 million each year for New Zealand merchants.

In the past year, direct COVID-19 recovery support to the SME sector has been extensive. 

It has included the wage subsidy, interest-free loans, free business advice through the Regional Business Partners network, grants and loans for tourism businesses, resurgence support payments for alert level changes, the flexi-wage, the leave support scheme, apprenticeship boosts, and a wide range of tax changes affecting depreciation, low value assets, and provisional tax thresholds.

“Last week’s Budget committed $44 million for digital training and advice. Today the private sector is coming on board to support small businesses to take advantage of the economic recovery,” Stuart Nash says.

“There is no going back from the digital revolution that has occurred across the globe due to COVID19.  

“Millions of companies and business owners have adopted digital tools and technologies to meet new expectations of customers and suppliers, and drive productivity.

“Our aspiration is for New Zealand to have the most digitally enabled small business sector in the world.  Agencies like Xero and NZIER estimate real GDP could increase between $3.5b and $6.2b if there was just a 20 percent increase in the uptake of cloud computing alone.

“Other economic benefits from government efforts to drive innovations like e-invoicing, faster payment terms, and IR’s Business Transformation are based on digital enablement. 

“The Digital Boost Alliance involves twenty influential organisations who share the same goals and purpose – to support small business resilience and productivity, and enhance wellbeing and social inclusion via greater digital adoption.

“It includes multinationals like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, HP and Amazon, five trading banks, Xero, MYOB, Zeald and Datacom, the Mindlab, CertNZ, Spark, Chorus and 2Degrees, the Warehouse Group and MBIE. 

“The organisations who join the Alliance make a public commitment to support small businesses, workers or communities with free or discounted goods, services, advice or training in order to improve standards of living and wellbeing.

“The continued digitalisation of NZ businesses will help secure the economic recovery in the face of ongoing uncertainty and volatility as COVID19 evolves around the world. 

“The global pandemic is still our biggest threat but we are well placed to deal with its challenges through initiatives like increased digitalisation,” Stuart Nash says.