Business & Industry
Supporting SMEs
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Entrepreneurship is not inclusive: how do we change this?
Despite the UK being an amazing place to start a business, there are significant barriers to entry, particularly for marginalised communities. The UK’s 5.5 million small businesses are an exceptionally vibrant force that represents an incredible variety of entrepreneurial backgrounds. However, our system isn’t always fair. If you are a disabled entrepreneur, for instance, there...
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Support for SMEs to access innovation funding
Launched in 2022 and funded by the UK Government, a programme is helping SMEs to secure funding so that validated innovative solutions can be scaled up. The Research, Innovate and Emerge (RIEm) programme at Brunel University London helps ambitious SMEs to translate their research and innovation (R&I) into fundable projects, so their solution can be...
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How larger businesses can support SMEs
Business collaboration is vital to creating a fairer and greener world, which is why it is so important for larger businesses to support SMEs with the resources and guidance they need to play their part in building a better world to live and work in. The majority of businesses in the UK are SMEs, employing...
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Grow your business: take the hassle out of communication
Small businesses no longer have to settle for second-best when it comes to finding great technology. As an SME, you don’t need deep pockets or specialist IT teams to boost productivity or engage employees. Small and growing businesses (99% of all UK companies) can outmanoeuvre bigger competitors, adapt quickly to change and offer a personal...
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SMEs’ role in the digital economy should not be underestimated
The UK is globally recognised as a leader of innovation and cutting-edge technology. Combined with our strong academic and research institutions, the UK produces many impactful start-ups every year, and since 2000 has created almost 400 high-growth startups. However, these startups face significant obstacles as they begin to scale, with domestic capital much scarcer for...
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What are the main reasons people shop online?
Offering an excellent delivery experience is key to ecommerce, research by payment experts Elavon has shown. When more than 1,000 UK adults were questioned, two-thirds (66%) of those who answered said that free returns, labels and packaging would encourage them to shop online. Respondents were also keen for returns collected from their house (39%) and...
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Top tips to stop fraudsters from targeting your ecommerce site
Carding is the process where stolen or cloned card details are used to make a small online purchase, to test if a card is valid and active. Often, a piece of automated software will try to make potentially thousands of small transactions until one is successful. Those details can then be used for larger fraud...
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How a love of baking shared on social media became an ecommerce empire
Scaling up at pace, from a hobby on Instagram into a full-on bespoke baking business, Steph Giordano wanted to give her customers the best buying experience and have a payments platform ready for whatever the future brings. “Baked by Steph started as a complete happy accident for me,” says Steph Giordano, founder and creative director...
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Skills and labour shortages prevent SMEs from realising full potential
The impact of widespread skills and labour shortages is a major concern for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they struggle to progress. Our data in the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reports that across all regions and sectors, three out of every four firms are struggling to fill vacancies. In addition to having an...
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Keeping entrepreneurs happy should be top on the new prime minister’s list
With SMEs being the backbone of UK businesses, all eyes are on the new prime minister and whether their policies will rejuvenate the economy. Amidst the worst cost of living crisis in decades, the biggest hike in interest rates in 27 years, energy shortages and a looming recession — it’s hardly surprising that the economy...