The NFTC’s Global Innovation Forum commends the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council’s (TTC) recent progress on “promoting SME access to and use of digital tools.”
We must work together to empower small businesses by improving access to the tools SMEs need to grow and thrive in the digital economy. We applaud Working Group 9’s emphasis on improving access to digital tools and its outreach efforts to further understand the barriers that SMEs face to accessing digital tools.
We welcome the launch of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s study to strengthen the use of digital tools by SMEs in the United States. This work will help highlight the critical data needed to ensure that all entrepreneurs can participate in the global, digital economy and access the benefits of international trade.
We look forward to continued collaboration with U.S and EU officials to further the innovation of transatlantic businesses and connect SMEs with tools that enable growth and prosperity.
Alongside these information-gathering activities, we urge U.S. and EU officials to take action by:
- Enhancing transatlantic digital training and trade promotion for SMEs;
- Increasing government support to help SMEs adopt digital tools;
- Maximizing transatlantic small business access to the global e-commerce ecosystem; and
- Prioritizing the inclusion of women and minority-owned businesses in digitally-enabled trade.
The Global Innovation Forum and Allied for Startups released a longer set of recommendations for promoting small business access to digital technologies, which you can read here.