Some 40,000 small businesses in New Zealand go digital

The Digital Boost programme is a free training programme that has helped 40,000 small businesses improve their digital skills.
By: | October 20, 2021
Topics: Digital Transformation | Learning and Development | New Zealand | News

New Zealand’s digital skills programme has attracted over 40,000 small businesses in New Zealand, according to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE). 

The Digital Boost programme is a free training programme aimed at small businesses to improve their digital skills in areas like e-commerce, digital marketing, business analytics, and cloud-based accounting, where content is delivered through formats such as videos, case studies, Q&A sessions, podcasts and learning summaries.

The programme has benefited small companies since its launch in January, resulting in a 20% increase in the number of small businesses with a website since then, said MBIE Digital Boost director Malcolm Luey.

MBIE designed the programme in partnership with The Mind Lab, an education provider.

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The programme has also helped 70% of users feel more confident towards their move to digital. Businesses involved are interested in e-commerce (21%), while 20% of firms have adopted cloud and software services. There has been an increase of 16% of companies that have moved to a cloud payroll system.

Altogether, 93% of the 40,000 small businesses currently using the programme intend to continue doing so with no or minimal changes.