Small business support goes online

Two new digital resources to support small business show the popularity of formats that allow users to run through stepwise programs that aggregate prior knowledge while mirroring the stages of small business development. Such tried and tested approaches to small business support continue to be relevant, but they are moving online and using accessible user journeys to reach more people.

What happened

Two new digital resources to help small businesses grow and become more resilient have been published, a free educational online platform by the Mastercard Academy and a toolkit by Argidius.

What we learned

Formats that allow users to run through stepwise programs that aggregate a lot of prior knowledge while mirroring the stages of small business development are a popular choice.

• The Mastercard Academy educational platform addresses small enterprises directly, allowing them to run through five stages: Design, Launch, Manage, Grow, and Community.
• The resource has a high-profile and experienced set of instructors, with Dan Isenberg, Efosa Ejomo, David Bell, and Marla Blow offering the five modules. Thereby, the course makes use of some of the upsides of online learning; lectures and other materials only have to be recorded once while engagement with participants is possible at greater scale.
• The toolkit by Argidius is oriented at business development services (BDS) providers and their funders.
• It introduces the SCALE approach, advising that BDS providers focus on Selecting the right enterprises, Charging businesses fees to increase program performance, Addressing small business’s problems to improve their learning outcomes, and Learning by carefully evaluating beneficiaries’ performance post support.
• As complementary resources, the toolkit includes a diagnostic tool for BDS funders and a set of templates and tools for BDS providers, including a reflection tool to allow them to think through possible improvements.

The bigger picture

Tried and tested small business support continues to be relevant, but it is moving online and uses accessible user journeys to reach more people.

Small Business Spotlight is a roundup of recent trends and insights about small enterprise in the digital age, by Dr Nicolas Friederici