Help to Grow: Digital expanded to help more SMEs

The Government has expanded its Help to Grow: Digital scheme to businesses with fewer than five employees.

Previously, only businesses with more than five employees could apply for the scheme. However, it is now its available to SMEs with at least one employee, raising the number of eligible businesses across the UK to 1.24 million.

Through the scheme, SMEs with less than 250 employees can access 50 per cent discounts worth up to £5,000, on 30 approved digital business solutions. These range from eCommerce, accounting and Customer Relation Management (CRM) software, with the aim of helping SMEs reach new markets.

Welcoming the news, Jeannie Satchell, Acting Head of the Enterprise M3 Growth Hub said: “This is great news as so many businesses were previously excluded from the scheme, and these are often the very businesses who do not have the resources to pay full prices for these software packages.”

Recent research published by The Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) shows many SMEs are missing an opportunity to increase productivity by failing to adopt new digital tools.

Referring to the ERC research, Jeannie said: “Higher sales per employee can be achieved when appropriate software is adopted. For example, the use of eCommerce software for more than three years can push sales per employee up by 7.5 per cent, while a CRM package can boost sales by 18.4 per cent and implementing cloud-based computing can increase sales by 13.5 per cent.”

“I would certainly encourage SMEs to take a close look at the scheme, which also offers free, impartial advice and guidance about what digital technology is best suited to their business to boost performance.”

To find out more about the Help to Grow: Digital scheme email sme.helptogrow@beis.gov.uk or visit www.learn-to-grow-your-business.service.gov.uk