Celebrating Greenwich’s business great and small
Last month we joined South East Enterprise and the Royal Borough of Greenwich to celebrate some of the fabulous SMEs that have been helped by our FREE E-Business programme in Greenwich.
There is plenty to celebrate! In Greenwich the e-business programme run by South East Enterprise has helped local businesses:
- Increase revenue by £5.8 million (combined)
- Create 122 jobs
- Safeguard over 400 jobs
The event was opened by Cllr Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Council, who highlighted the importance of E-Business in an increasingly online world and the achievements of the E-Business Programme.
Cllr Okereke said “We are particularly proud that the E-Business programme was developed and started in Greenwich in 2014 and has been delivering successfully since then. Online trading and E-Business know-how will be even more important within the context of the economic uncertainty ahead due to the ongoing energy crisis and cost of living crisis and I am pleased that we are doing all we can to help prepare our local businesses for the challenges that lie ahead.”
Sarah Murray, Director of Local London, spoke about how the programme, which is being run by South East Enterprise, Enterprise Enfield and Newham College, is helping hundreds of SMEs become more resilient and successful. “Over 99% of businesses in this part of London are small businesses. These are employers and livelihoods for many people, so supporting them is hugely important. Thanks to the expertise of Tony Goldstein and his digital business advisors at South East Enterprise we are seeing more and more brilliant small businesses in Greenwich flourishing.”
Tony Goldstein from South East Enterprise explained how the programme, which was first piloted in Greenwich, had itself grown and was supporting small businesses in Greenwich and beyond. “We knew back in 2014 when we developed the E-Business programme for Royal Greenwich just how important it is for small businesses to understand digital in order to develop and grow and we have seen so many of our businesses prosper as a result of our support. We are particularly proud that our E-Business programme is now enjoying success across the Local London sub-region in 7 other boroughs.”
SME founders Melissa Bruscoli and Sara Battiston from The London Leather Workshop in Greenwich shared insights into their learning and experience on the programme.
During the evening guests, including around 100 local business owners and employees, were entertained by students from the London College of Performing Arts whilst they networked with local businesses and stakeholders and explored an exhibition made by and featuring a number of E-Business Programme success stories.
About the E-business programme
Across our boroughs over 1,100 businesses have signed up to the E-business programme, and this number is growing each day. Our fully funded programme is free to business owners and has safeguarded over 750 local jobs, in fashion, translation and photography businesses to cafes and more.
Discover the E-business programme near you
From getting online or learning how to use Microsoft Word, to developing an online advertising campaign, our expert providers are ready to help small and medium sized businesses:
Businesses in Enfield, Redbridge and Waltham Forest should contact Enterprise Enfield. Find out more.
Businesses in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Newham should contact Newham College of Further Education. Find out more.
Businesses in Bexley and Greenwich should contact South East Enterprise. Find out more.
Latest news:
Read more news about the E-business programme and the local businesses we’re helping.