Amazon Small Business Accelerator benefits thousands of Scots firms - who are bullish about the next year

More than 12,000 Scottish start-ups and small businesses have been supported to build digital skills during the pandemic by Amazon Small Business Accelerator – and such firms are broadly positive about the year ahead.

Amazon said the initiative – which is open to start-ups and small firms of any size – has achieved its milestone goal of supporting more than 200,000 such ventures altogether across the UK within a year of its launch.

It found that about 80 per cent of participants credited the Amazon Small Business Accelerator with helping improve their business performance, and 88 per cent expect it to improve this in the next 12 months.

Amazon has also published the results of a survey finding that 80 per cent of Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are upbeat for the year ahead. Additionally, they are closing in on London expansion, with 42 per cent now categorising themselves as being in a growth phase compared with 43 per cent in the UK capital.

Tracey Hogarth from East Ayrshire runs Nudie Snacks - and says Amazon’s accelerator programme 'is a fantastic initiative'. Picture: Nudie Snacks.

Furthermore, 55 per cent of such firms north of the Border are planning to increase investment in digital infrastructure over the next year, up from 43 per cent over the past year.

The retail giant said it created the Amazon Small Business Accelerator with UK small business support network Enterprise Nation in response to the impact of the pandemic on the start-up and SME community, aiming to help businesses of all sizes by providing a free package of support, online learning, and bootcamp events to help them start and grow online.

Amazon is now partnering with the Department for International Trade and Enterprise Nation on a series of bootcamp events to help start-ups and small businesses export. One such event will take place in Scotland in October of this year.

The entrepreneur also believes the accelerator 'will open up a global marketplace to other Scottish sellers'. Picture: contributed.

John Boumphrey, UK country manager at Amazon, said: “A year on from launching the Amazon Small Business Accelerator, it is heartening to look back on the resilience, adaptability and innovation that continues to power the UK’s community of start-ups and small businesses.

Resources

“Having surpassed our initial goal of supporting more than 200,000 businesses, we’re still seeing a steady stream of entrepreneurs armed with new ideas, ready to tap into the training, tools and resources that we provide to all small businesses for free through the Amazon Small Business Accelerator.

"The past year has shown that building digital skills can lead to better business resilience, and we are proud to play some part in helping UK small business owners and entrepreneurs unlock opportunities at home and abroad.”

One such entrepreneur is Tracey Hogarth from Stewarton, East Ayrshire, who runs Nudie Snacks. She said: “Amazon’s accelerator programme is a fantastic initiative which will open up a global marketplace to other Scottish sellers. I hope, like us that they find out how transformational selling online can be for a small business.”

The firm, which has a headcount of six, is now turning over 75 per cent less than pre-Covid, but says sales are moving in the right direction on Amazon marketplace, and will eventually exceed where it was. Its customers are currently only based in the UK but the firm aims to sell in Germany, Italy, France and Spain, all through Amazon Marketplace.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.