E-business Programme
The E-business Programme provided free support to SMEs across Local London to make the most of digital technologies to grow their businesses.
Local London’s E-business programme (no longer running) was so successful it has been extended across London. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can now get support through the LONDON E-Business Support Programme as of November 2024.
Grown in our sub-region, the Local London E-business programme achieved impressive results, helping over 3,000 SMEs in our nine boroughs to become more digitally-savvy, helping them increase revenue, create and safeguard jobs. The programme has now been extended across London with UKSPF funding.
Enterprise Enfield and South East Enterprise, two of the delivery partners in the Local London E-business programme, are part of a consortium making this happen.
⇒Discover the new LONDON E-Business Support Programme and how it is helping SMEs across the whole of London to grow.
3,000+
SMEs supported to harness digital know-how to grow
£57m
increase in business revenue for SMEs on the programme
Why supporting small businesses matters
There are around 100,000 businesses with fewer than 50 employees across our boroughs. Only around 55% will make it past 3 years of trading. The E-business programme helped businesses in our sub-region to become more financially resilient.
How did the E-business Programme work ?
The programme was fully funded, making it free for business owners. It was available for local businesses with fewer than 250 employees, that had been trading for 6 months or more to:
- Build a strong online presence.
- Strengthen their business’s cyber-security and data storage.
- Streamline their processes.
- Enhance their online marketing and social media.
- Harness e-commerce and online payment systems.
We appointed three expert providers to deliver the programme:
Enterprise Enfield: Delivered the programme to SMEs in Enfield, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
Newham College of Further Education: Delivered the programme to SMEs in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Newham.
South East Enterprise: Delivered the programme to SMEs in Bexley and Greenwich.
"The programme has helped me immensely in strategising how to attract new clients and get more hands-on support in my business, as well as putting a financial plan together that feels feasible and realistic. It has helped me see myself more as a business owner than I did before, which has been extremely empowering.” Martyna, Shot By Martyna supported by the Local London E-business programme with Enterprise Enfield.
What business owners said
“Since joining the programme I have managed
to increase our company’s website visitors by
6,566% – our email marketing engagement
by 450% and our social media presence has
increased by 1,566% – yes unbelievable! AND
its all still increasing!”
Mike Cooper, Inspiring Salons Ltd supported by the
Local London E-business programme with Enterprise Enfield.
"The guys at Newham College have been amazing.
I love the attention to detail and hands-on support I
get for my business. The team is attentive and takes
your business as their own - I highly recommend it to
anyone who needs the support and wants to grow.”
Fitcredibles supported by the
Local London E-business programme with Newham College.
Gaining confidence in achieving goals
Perfect Facilities Services is a specialised cleaning, property maintenance and janitorial service in the borough of Bexley. Its owner, Gabriel Ogunbiyi, looked for support from South East Enterprise to identify the best way to increase his turnover.
His E-business Adviser conducted an initial audit and identified commercial clients presenting the most significant opportunity to grow. Together they created a targeted content-driven marketing plan to build brand awareness and generate more business from this sector. Key to this was attending South East Enterprise workshops on Strategic Marketing, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google My Business.
Gabriel said "I enjoy the one-to-one business sessions and workshops, as it teaches me about using tools in business I wouldn’t be aware of. I have gained more confidence in achieving some of my original goals and new ones."
There for us since the beginning
By participating in the E-business programme, a combination
of workshops and targeted one-to-one sessions, we gained the
confidence and knowledge necessary to grow our business
effectively and in line with the times.
It also gave us the opportunity to network with other local
small businesses, which is extremely important, especially in
the early stages of our own growth.”
The London Leather Workshop
The E-business Report
This report pulls together interim evaluation and end of programme statistics, as well as interviews with borough business leads, the three programme providers and businesses themselves to provide a holistic overview of the programme’s achievements.
The Local London E-business programme was funded from London’s Strategic Investment Pot (SIP) and our boroughs
collectively match funded over £1.6 million.
