Klarna Launches £3m Support Package To Support SME Recovery

In an effort to help British small-medium enterprises (SMEs) recover from the pandemic, Klarna has launched a new £3 million small business support package.

New research shows that 24 percent of SMEs do not feel confident that their business will survive the next two years, while 46 percent of owners are focused on surviving the next six months.

The initiative aims to offer support to such businesses and improve their odds of surviving their ongoing economic challenges.

“It has been a monumentally difficult year for our SMEs, and as we recover from the pandemic, it’s vital that we can provide all the support we can. Klarna’s £3m Support Package and Accelerator Program will be instrumental in rebuilding business health and confidence and I encourage every SME to get involved,” said Matt Vickers, MP for Stockton South and Support Package judge.

Through the support package, the Swedish buy now, pay later ( BNPL) solution provider will offer 100 retail SMEs access to WeWork office space for 3 months, offer complimentary use of Klarna’s BNPL products for one year and £15,000 in credit for using Klarna’s media services. That totals up to roughly £30,000 in support for each merchant.

The company is using a panel of hand-picked judges to decide on the SMEs that will be receiving financial support. The panel of judges includes Matt Vicker, a member of parliament for Stockton South and co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Retail, Alex Marsh, who serves as Klarna’s head of UK and Mathieu Proust, who serves as general manager for UK, Ireland & emerging markets at WeWork.

The BNPL solution provider has also launched a ten-part accelerator program, which consists of a series of free training masterclasses from industry experts from various partners, including Shopify, WeWork, Global-e, dotdigital, in an effort to provide SMEs with actionable insights that can help amplify their business.

SMEs can apply for the fund here and register for the accelerator program here. Applications for the fund are being accepted until September 8, 2021.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on July 30, 2021.