The Amazon Academy will offer ideas and practical advice on how SMEs can succeed in the digital economy

The free event is being run in collaboration with Enterprise Nation and the Guardian Small Business Network, and follows the launch of the Amazon Academy series in London in 2016

LONDON – 21 February, 2017 – Amazon has today opened registrations for the latest Amazon Academy, taking place on Friday 31st March in Manchester to provide advice and practical support to help SMEs grow their business online. The free event is being run in association with renowned small business network Enterprise Nation, which provides expert advice and day-to-day support for over 70,000 of Britain's small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and the Guardian Small Business Network, which provides news and insight on Britain's small business community.

Businesses from across the North West are invited to attend the latest Amazon Academy to learn how they can grow both their customer base and operations, and to understand more about the opportunities of the new digital economy. Attendees will include both established SMEs and entrepreneurs selling through Amazon Marketplace, as well as web developers who want to use new technology to take their business to the next level. Attendees will be able to hear advice on:

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• How to build their digital capabilities and expertise to boost revenue, geographic reach and productivity
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• How to boost export sales and go global with Amazon Marketplace
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• How Amazon Launchpad can help startups bring innovative new products to market
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• How to use cloud computing to be lean, fast and agile through Amazon Web Services
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• How to reach new customers through Alexa, Amazon's exciting new cloud-based voice service

One of the main areas of focus at the Amazon Academy will be for SMEs to learn how they can boost export sales to new customers across the world. Amazon has created a suite of support tools and services to help make it easier for businesses to export their products, including help with managing currency exchange, local translations and providing global delivery and distribution. As a result, businesses of all sizes can sell globally across Amazon's eleven websites in seven languages to potentially reach hundreds of millions of customers. In 2016 alone, UK businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace achieved export sales of £1.8 billion, up 29% year-on-year.

"The internet and technology have the power to level the playing field between big and small businesses, empowering the 5.4 million UK SMEs to grow their business online, create jobs and boost export sales," said Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager, Amazon. "Every day, we are seeing more UK businesses expanding their horizons by offering their products on a European or global basis, opening themselves up to tens of millions of additional potential customers at the click of a button."

"British businesses are without doubt missing out if they don't develop their digital expertise, but many firms find it hard to get access to realistic early stage support," added Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation. "Today more and more people are setting up at home while holding down a day job and quite a lot of it can be guess work with success being hit and miss. The Amazon Academy can help address this by showing how and in what way the digital economy can play a role in every business endeavour."

The Amazon Academy is a free, one-day event and is taking place on Friday 31 March at the Manchester Central Convention Complex. To register for the Amazon Academy please visit:
  www.enterprisenation.com/amazon-academy

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For more information, please contact:
Amazon UK Press Office
E: pressoffice@amazon.co.uk
T: 020 3680 0888

Enterprise Nation Press Office
Liz Slee
E: liz@enterprisenation.com
T: 07540 060112

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.co.uk/about.

About Enterprise Nation
Enterprise Nation is a growing small business network and business support provider with more than 70,000 members. Its aim is to help people turn their good ideas into great businesses – through expert advice, events, acceleration and networking. Enterprise Nation was founded in 2005 by Emma Jones MBE, also co-founder of national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain. She is author of best-selling business books including Spare Room Startup, Working 5 to 9, Go Global, Start a Business for £99 and the StartUp Kit, Going for Growth. In 2016 she was announced as the Government's Trade Ambassador and SME Crown Representative.