16 Sep 2024

Event round-up: techUK Small Enterprises, Big Impact launch

Sponsored by Sage, Intuit and Xero, this event launched techUK's latest policy paper, Small Enterprises, Big Impact. This report provides actionable incentives that the Government can deliver to drive digitisation across UK SMEs.

A key growth opportunity, this could add an estimated £232 billion to the economy, while at the same time improving the UK’s resilience against economic shocks, helping solve the productivity challenge and creating a return on investment on public money.

As AI technologies begin to come onstream, low digital adoption rates for UK SMEs are a particular risk. Key recommendations within our report include:

Co-ordinating a cross-departmental and industry led Forum and appoint a Minister responsible for digitisation across the economy.
Delivering a comprehensive digital adoption plan with clearly defined targets by 2030, focusing on the right underpinning infrastructure, regulation and skills needed to succeed.
Committing to digital adoption growth opportunities, including supporting the next stages of Open Banking’s evolution and SMEs carbon reporting for net zero.
Expanding the Made Smarter Adoption programme to all sectors of the economy.

You can view the full event recording here.

The event began with an opening speech from Lucy Rigby, MP for Northampton North, who reinstated the Government's central mission of economic growth and securing the highest sustained growth in the G7. Lucy outlined how technology, and the digital adoption, is vital to achieving this. This mirrored the message made within Lucy's maiden speech in Parliament a few weeks ago.

This followed a fireside chat with Neil Ross, Associate Director for Policy at techUK and Phil Smith, Chair of IQE and former Chair and CEO of Cisco UK. Phil Smith now Chairs the Department for Business and Trade's SME Digital Adoption Taskforce. Phil recapped action under the last Government, outlining what had gone well, and what hadn't. This includes the failure of 'Help to Grow: Digital' and delayed role out of Making Tax Digtial for Income Tax Self Assessment.

In the current context, Phil outlined the aspiration and enthusiasm from new Ministers, and that any future focus must be on aspiration, accountability and a plan.

Our first panel focused on 'Unlocking UK productivity and competitiveness: How the Government can empower SMEs through enhanced digitisation support' and chaired by techUK's Head of Digital Economy Samiah Anderson consisted of the following panellists:

Anthony Impey MPE, CEO, Be the Business
Naomi Weir, Programme Director – Innovation, CBI
Nick Williams, Director of UK Product Management, Intuit
Jon Cowan, Chief of Staff, Sage

Key points included recognition that the UK is home to some of the most innovative firms in the world and an attractive place to start and grow a business.

But we currently suffer from a productivity problem. Panellists echoed that ensuring all businesses are equipped to take advantage of digital technologies is essential enhance the performance of SMEs, grow the UK’s tech economy and keep pace with OECD nations. Not only this, this will allow for SME employees to better utilise their time, and free up time to spent outside of work.

Our second panel focused on 'Maximising SME growth: Harnessing digital adoption to seize opportunities and drive success' and chaired by techUK's Policy Manager for Digtial Economy chaired Mia Haffety consisted of the following panellists:

Lucy Rigby, MP for Northampton North
Martin McTague OBE, National Chair, Federation of Small Businesses
Daniel Woolf, Head of Policy, Enterprise Nation
Georgi Rollings, Co-CEO, Starfish Accountancy

Key points echoed the challenges that SMEs face in adopting and integrating digital technologies, whether that's access to the right grant and funding or lack of long term strategy from the Government. Panellists echoed that the need for better digitisation support has never been more critical to ensure that SMEs can remain resilient, and future-ready to leverage technologies like AI. But also to enable the headroom to stay afloat, and grow.

The panel covered key strategies and practical solutions already helping SMEs to overcome barriers, including the Made Smarter Adoption Programme. Along with case studies and success stories where digitisation has supported SMEs – including with more efficient processes and productivity gains.