eBay is launching a new program to help small businesses in the UK by offering training and support. The eBay Business Roadshow will visit 12 cities and towns in the next 12 months and expects to reach thousands of small businesses by the end of March of next year.
eBay will spend over £1m to train small businesses and is offering the program in partnership with Small Business Britain and British Chambers of Commerce.
“The Roadshow will turn up at the doorsteps of small businesses across the country, helping would-be and fledgling entrepreneurs to both start up and scale up their online businesses,” eBay said.
Ongoing access to networking, skills, and training through its online eBay Academy portal will be provided to participating businesses throughout year.
According to eBay research conducted by Opinium in March, over two thirds (69%) of small businesses said that for the first time ever, they’re facing inflationary pressures across all parts of their business – from supply chain, to energy, to wages and rent – which is having an adverse effect on skills and training. (eBay surveyed 1,024 senior managers in UK companies of 2-249 employees.)
The majority of businesses surveyed (59%) said their finances were stretched; 47% said a lack of investment was preventing business growth; and over a third (40%) of those who needed to recover said that a lack of investment would force them to let people go.
Murray Lambell, General Manager, eBay UK 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.
“We want to open our community to even more businesses, so that whichever part of our British Isles you’re based in, you can find a way to harness the huge opportunities that our platform can give to both start-up entrepreneurs and established, highly-scaled online sellers alike.”
The eBay Business Roadshow will arrive in Sheffield for the first event on the 28th – 29th April.
The two day Roadshow will be held at Sheffield City Hall, and will kick off with speeches from Lambell and Michelle Ovens, founder of Small Business Britain
See the full announcement on the eBayInc.com website.
