Taking small businesses to the heart of Government to talk digital

This a guest update from Carlo Gibbs, Chief of Staff to the Small Business Commissioner

This week I was excited to be able to lead a delegation of SMEs to meet the Number 10 business engagement team to discuss the barriers to going digital and the effectiveness of available support. Digital adoption for small businesses sounds like a no brainer. The evidence suggests that it increases productivity, it helps small businesses to reach new markets, grow and get paid on time. Yet many small businesses are not adopting digital technologies as quickly as they could.

The Government recently published a report from its digital adoption taskforce which outlined its two key ambitions 1) Make UK SMEs the most digitally capable and AI confident in the G7 and 2) Seize the UKs already leading global position in the tech and AI sector. SMEs are therefore critical to delivering its aims and it’s why the Government wanted to hear direct from them about their experiences.

The delegation included a diverse range of businesses, from sole traders to growing start-ups, established bricks and mortar businesses to firms that support other small businesses go digital. This meant the discussion covered a wide range of views about the support available and the challenges facing SMEs.

We discussed how we can ensure SMEs get access to the right support, from both Government through the recently launched Business Support Service and the private sector, to help them understand where to invest and how to embed digital processes into their business operation. Training for staff when investing in new technologies was also seen as critical and how to maximise the Skills and Growth Levy. Going digital also meant thinking about different risks like cyber security where the Government provides a wide range of support for SMEs here.

There was a strong appetite from all types of SMEs that they are ready and willing to go digital. Some were using AI, some providing advice and support to micro businesses to go digital and others pivoting their offline business to build an online presence. What was clear was that SMEs are ready and willing to adopt digital technology and getting the right support to unlock its potential is key.