Registration open for Amazon Academy 2018 programme

This year there will also be Amazon Academies in Newcastle and Cardiff. These follow previous events in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham which were attended by more than 1,200 SMEs and entrepreneurs.

Run in association with Enterprise Nation, which provides support to over 70,000 of SMEs, these free events offer advice to help SMEs to succeed in the digital economy, particularly by growing their e-commerce and export sales.

Amazon offers a suite of support tools to help businesses export their products and services, including providing global delivery and distribution, managing customer services in local languages, and translating hundreds of product listings. As a result, six in 10 UK-based businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace now export abroad, with half of all sales on Amazon’s global sites coming from smaller, independent businesses.

Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones MBE said: “Websites like Amazon are a great way for British SMEs to break into overseas markets. That’s why we are looking forward to bringing Amazon Academies to new cities across the UK as we continue on our mission to help SMEs grow their business online.

“We want to see more SMEs take their first step into exporting by utilising the available tools and guidance from companies like Amazon, so that these businesses can reach their potential by going global.”

Doug Gurr, UK country manager of Amazon, added: “We’re seeing a record number of British SMEs selling their products across Europe, North America, Japan, China and India, opening themselves to millions of additional potential customers through the power of the internet.

“Through programmes like the Amazon Academy, we want to help small businesses grow their revenue, increase their productivity and boost exports, to help build a stronger economy and create more jobs in the UK.”

Amazon has revealed that UK SMEs selling on its Marketplace achieved record export sales of £2.3 billion last year. More than 85,000 people are employed in the UK are employed to run the sales activities of businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace.

One significant exporter on Amazon Marketplace is Sugru, a start-up from East London that produces a mouldable glue ‘to help fix almost anything’. It’s a flexible, adhesive repair putty that sets strong, turning into a silicone rubber suitable for craft and DIY projects.

Sugru’s sales on Amazon are growing by more than 100% every year. Sugru founder, Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh said: “From launching our business in the UK, we’ve now expanded to sell through Amazon across seven countries – and now Amazon in the US is our single largest customer. With more than two million customers globally, we look forward to boosting our export sales even further in 2017.”