Digital payments firm, Visa and
multi-category app, Glovo, have partnered to empower small-to-medium
enterprises (SMEs) to direct their digitalisation journey and accelerate growth
through a series of online training courses.
The collaboration is a result of the two
companies' shared belief that SMEs are the pillars of the global economy. The
programme sits under Glovo’s umbrella programme, Glovo Local – an initiative to
help bolster SMEs so that they can thrive in an increasingly digital world.
The videos are geared towards aspiring
local business owners who want to competently start a small business, as well
as growth-minded owners of small and medium-sized businesses looking for ways
to streamline their current practices and expand. The series is aimed at small
businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
With its online training series and through
its partnership with Visa, Glovo intends to offer timely support to SMEs. The
partnership comes at an important time for SMEs globally to overcome persistent
challenges including complex regulations, inadequate digital infrastructure,
and a scarcity of digital talent. The series crucially covers a range of
business-focused topics including digital payments, marketing campaigns, social
media, and money management. The 100+ videos will be available across nine
countries in southwest Europe and Africa (Spain, Portugal, Ivory Coast,
Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria) and will be accessible to
over 40,000 SMEs.
Last year, Glovo and Visa conducted a pilot
programme with partners in Morocco. The pilot involved an in-person workshop
with more than 30 local partners, providing them with learning and development
masterclasses on topics such as digital marketing, cash flow management and
Glovo Ads. The feedback received from these partners played a key role in
selecting and filtering the online training courses that are now being offered
in collaboration with Visa.
Speaking on the initiative, Head of Impact and Sustainability at Glovo, Sébastien Pellion, said: “We are using this opportunity to further our offering to SMEs and to strengthen a collaborative ecosystem for entrepreneurs and business owners that shape our cities. Only 20per cent of SMEs in the markets where we operate sell via digital channels, resulting in a huge potential for them to tap into new customer bases. Partnering with Visa is another opportunity to support SMEs on their digitalisation journey and accelerate small and independent businesses in regions like Africa, which has ample opportunities for local business owners. We’re confident that Visa can aid us in fuelling local economies through formalised, community-driven initiatives.”
Also, Vice President and Head of Social Impact, CEMEA, Visa, Carl Manlan, said: “Visa acknowledges that SMEs are the backbone of economic growth and inclusion and equipping them with innovative solutions and resources with our partners is essential. Small, independent businesses account for more than half of Europe’s GDP and employ around 100 million people. In Africa, SMEs account for 95per cent of all registered businesses and contribute to about 50percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP) in Sub-Saharan countries . Globally we are moving from hundreds of millions of sellers – large and small – to billions of sellers around the world. Anyone today can be a seller – people reselling second-hand items via the circular economy; people working in the gig economy; or those in the creator economy. Visa is working to provide services at scale to reach these sellers and help them flourish. This is why we are proud to collaborate with Glovo and leverage the option of visual training to help provide these 40,000 SMEs with the opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge and overcome the challenges of digitisation and leverage the opportunities of e-commerce and digital payments.”
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