Vodafone partners with Dragons’ Den Star Steven Bartlett to give small businesses digital skills
Vodafone recruits leading entrepreneur and newest BBC Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett to reach more small businesses that will benefit from the business.connected free training initiative.
The program has provided free guidance to 46,000 small businesses so far, and Vodafone has today increased its commitment by a further 50,000, set to provide help to 150,000 small businesses by summer 2022.
As part of the V-Hub by Vodafone SME support platform, the business.connected initiative is now expanding, with Cisco, tech company, set to join as partners and provide training courses.
Having started his own successful business at just 22 years old, Bartlett – who is just 29, will provide advise SMEs on managing an online business, and enhancing their digital capabilities to unlock opportunities.
Steven Bartlett, Entrepreneur and business.connected Ambassador, said: “The business world, especially now, is moving quickly and this isn’t going to stop anytime soon – it’s important that businesses adopt a ‘designed for change’ ethic and keep up with emerging trends.”
Andrew Stevens, Head of Small Business, Vodafone UK, echoed this point and commented: “A strong foundation of digital skills will be crucial for small business owners to compete and succeed in a post-Covid landscape, especially as many business owners remain short on time and knowledge when it comes to leveraging the right digital tools.”
“It’s been great to see the business.connected initiative gaining momentum and proving a real catalyst for SME growth. We’re excited to be helping our nation’s bustling small business sector and to be extending our initial goals to now look to support 150,000 SMEs by next summer, thanks to our new partnership with Cisco.”