eBay launches £1m investment programme for small businesses

No comments

eBay has unveiled an investment programme and regional roadshow, designed to help small online businesses navigate rising inflation and the impact of the pandemic.

eBay

eBay research revealed that 69% of small businesses are facing inflationary pressures

eBay will invest more than £1m in the eBay Business Roadshow, its first physical roadshow and investment programme. The roadshow will see eBay visit 12 cities and towns across the UK over the next year.

The roadshow and investment programme are intended to offer small businesses the skills, funding and networking opportunities to launch or scale their operations, aiming to reach thousands of businesses by the end of March 2023.

Businesses will also be able to access grants at each stop on the roadshow.

The companies that eBay meets will gain access to eBay Academy, the marketplace’s online learning platform.

eBay has also partnered with Small Business Britain and the British Chambers of Commerce to deliver the roadshow. It will also engage with regional organisations and experts to tailor guidance for local areas.

The roadshow will begin in Sheffield at the end of April for two days of workshops, one-to-one sessions with experts and networking events.

The investment comes after new research from eBay UK revealed that 69% of small businesses said they are facing inflationary pressures across all parts of their business.

In addition, 59% said finances were stretched and 49% said they were concerned that they would not fully recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

Some 40% said a lack of investment would force them to let employees go.

eBay UK general manager Murray Lambell said: “Thanks to the amazing resilience and adaptability of small business owners, most have successfully weathered the multiple challenges of Covid, supply chain problems and now the cost of living crisis.

“eBay has a long heritage in supporting our army of 300,000 small business sellers in both the good times and the more challenging times, so we’re very proud to build on this by announcing this first-ever national Business Roadshow, which we hope will make a meaningful difference for small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country, providing them with the skills, investment and network to thrive in the long term.”

British Chambers of Commerce director general Shevaun Haviland added: “Businesses of all sizes, particularly small businesses, have been impacted by events out of their control.

“Although we’re seeing small pockets of recovery in some sectors, we know that small businesses are hit the hardest and are facing a ‘cost of doing business crisis’ with spiralling bills, inflation and supply chain issues.”