Small businesses could benefit from Rudd’s online fund

It has been reported that many small businesses in Australia could benefit from the millions of dollars that is being ploughed into a Small Business Online program by the Rudd Government.

With more and more people taking up broadband services in Australia it has become increasingly important for companies to ensure that they have some sort of online presence in order to boost business and remain competitive. This is particularly important for small businesses, which are most at risk of folding unless they take measures to improve access to their services and products.

It was recently announced that around fifty thousand small businesses in Australia could benefit from a fund that has been created by the Rudd government that will allow them to create or improve their online presence, and these businesses could see a sharp rise in business as a result of this. At present there are ninety five percent of small businesses connected to the Internet, but only fifty seven percent of them have a website.

The initial amount that was put into the program by the Rudd Government was ten million dollars. However, it was later announced that this was being boosted by another four million dollars, bringing the total in the fund to fourteen million dollars. With the money from this fund many small businesses will be able to set up websites, upgrade existing websites, and generally benefit more from the National Broadband Network.

In particular it is tourism operators that are set to benefit from improving their online presence. The Small Business Minister Craig Emerson stated: “The NBN will be a powerful tool for small business and helping 50,000 small businesses go online or improve their online presence will ensure they are ready for these exciting opportunities.”

Source – Ret.gov.au