Member Article

A little less conversation, a little more action

Ben Down, O2’s business director says there should be less talk and more action when it comes to supporting UK business growth. Ben’s opinion follows the recent British Chambers of Commerce report that suggested the UK economic recovery is gathering some momentum.

Whilst it is encouraging to see that business confidence is rising and growth is here to stay, it’s disappointing to see that recovery is seemingly being held back by an uncertain funding environment. Ambitious businesses looking to expand are unable to do so without proper investment, so it’s little wonder that smaller or new businesses are turning to unregulated and untested financing methods, such as crowd funding.

We need to see greater collaboration between business and Government to improve access to funding for smaller businesses. It’s easy to publicly praise start-ups and entrepreneurs for being the ‘engine room of the UK economy’ and then continue about our day jobs, leaving it to Government to come up with solutions. To get back on the road to growth we need to start with a concerted effort from big businesses to support the small business community.

But it’s not just about funding. In the UK, we’re lucky to play home to 4.8 million of the world’s most dynamic SMEs. We’re surrounded by vibrant thinking and innovative working practices which can positively influence large business’ operating models; inspiring us to introduce new ways of working. For me, there are three clear wins to be gained by big businesses becoming champions of the small business community.

Firstly, by applying our own business assets we can really help SMEs improve their chance of success. At O2 for example, our network is our greatest asset and digital is what we do best, so over the past year we have found new ways to apply these strengths to help small businesses thrive, like helping thousands of independent retailers market their business to our 23 million-strong customer base through a location-based mobile app. The impending arrival of 4G this summer will herald an era of ubiquitous connectivity boosting the opportunities for the retailers even further.

Secondly, big businesses can too easily become stuck in certain processes – choking off the innovation and ideas generation that have the potential to help them keep ahead of competitors. By working with the small business community, whether through events, mentoring schemes or online forums, it’s possible for larger organisations to promote a healthy two-way knowledge exchange with their smaller counterparts.

At O2, we went one step further on innovation. We launched our incubator programme Wayra to give British start-ups an injection of investment and access to expert mentoring. Many companies in the digital services space are incubating start-ups and getting first refusal on their ideas. But all businesses have something to offer, be it funding, mentoring and training, or simply the use of office and workspace.

Finally, with small business thriving and big business refreshed, the wider economy will inevitably reap the rewards and realise proper growth. I strongly believe that it is only through this collective effort of big businesses that we will fuel a more innovative and progressive Britain.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by O2 Business .