What are small businesses doing to prepare for an economic downturn?

As Britain braces itself for recession amid rising inflation and a deepening cost-of-living crisis, a new study shows that 4 out of 10 small firms in the UK have invested in growing their digital capacity to try and mitigate the soaring cost of doing business.

45% of small and medium-sized firms surveyed by Enterprise Nation say they increased their digital capability last year, with 68% pledging to do so over the next 12 months.

The decision to invest in online was primarily to drive growth (47%) with others saying it was a consequence of the pandemic (29%) or the cost of living crisis (16%).

Successful schemes to address the issue of digital upskilling include business.connected, a partnership between Vodafone, Enterprise Nation, Samsung and Cisco, which aims to expand the digital capabilities of half a million SMEs over the next three years.

Aston spoke to Emma Jones CBE, founder and CEO of Enterprise Nation.

Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash