“Shop local - Support your SME!”: COM³ message to Halland Tech Week 2021
On October 6, 2021, Alexanderson Institute and COM³ participated in the Halland Tech Week, a 4-day hybrid event featuring multiple sessions, panels, discussions and networking opportunities around digital transformation and entrepreneurship.
In a dedicated session called “Shop Locally”, COM³ partners shared practical examples on how local authorities help small business promote local products, enhance visitor experience and consequently strengthen local communities.
Upskilling SMEs to bridge the digital divide in Torsby Municipality, Sweden
André Liljemark, COM³ partner from Torsby Municipality, in the Värmland County, Sweden, gave a glimpse of the journey to build Handla iTorsby, a local “click and collect” e-commerce platform. Launched in October 2020, the online store enables small businesses from the region to sell their products online.
The Torsby Municipality accompanied and educated SMEs all along the process so that they could get the relevant digital skills.
One year after the launch of Handla iTorsby, the results are more than promising: the e-commerce platform has not only helped small businesses sell their products online, it has also augmented their visibility and even increased the number of customers in their physical stores. More than a threat, digital transformation has been definitely an opportunity for SMEs in the Värmland County!
Heimatware, an online marketplace by locals for locals in Hüttener Berge, Germany
The collective municipality of Hüttener Berge, in northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, wanted also to support local businesses benefit from digital technologies. In the same time, the municipality wanted to ensure that its project answers local needs, from the companies, but also from the citizens. Through a detailed consultation process involving inhabitants (potential customers) and farmers and traders (potential producers), it came up with the idea of an online marketplace that offers delivery service, Heimatware.
COM³ partners, Laura Kremeike and Matthias Phillipp, presented to the Halland Tech Week audience, the success story of this brand-new platform developed with two startup companies: Pielers, a German start up that provided the online marketplace software and LoDeli, a local start-up, that provides delivery and operates the online store. Shoppers can now choose between more than 200 products from 16 local producers and get their milk, eggs and much more delivered to their door. It’s never been so easy to support local SMEs!
COM³ message to Halland Tech Week 2021- “Shop local - Support your SME!”
The event co-organized by the Alexanderson Institute gathered more than 30 participants from 5 countries (Sweden, The Netherland, Belgium, Germany and Norway) and included participants from academia, private and public sector.
You can now watch the recorded session on Youtube: