Vodacom Business has launched V-Hub, an online resource portal designed to help SMEs unlock their full potential as they embark on a digital transformation journey.
This comes as nearly a third of South Africa’s small businesses say they see digitisation as a challenge.
Last year’s Mastercard SME Index revealed that South African SMEs expressed that upskilling staff and growing digitally will help drive business in a post-COVID-19 world.
In a statement, Vodacom Business says the V-Hub brings CIO digital-advisory services to the table.
According to the company, these services are two-fold. First, Vodacom Business customers, who own an SME, can request one-on-one advice over the phone for free, from a local specialist on anything from IT decision making to tech set-up and troubleshooting.
Secondly, any SME owner can access the digital Knowledge Centre for free through Vodacom’s website, notes the company, adding that users will be able to browse a curated selection of articles, videos, and webinars on topics such as learning how to grow your online business, or how to save time and effort when implementing digital tools.
“Adopting the right digital solutions will help SMEs become more agile and resilient, enabling them to quickly adapt to customers’ evolving needs,” states Nastassha Dooks, Vodacom Business executive head for SME and SOHO.
Vodacom Business explains that crucial digital-advice services are grouped under five topic categories on the Knowledge Centre.
Given that 55% of SMEs cite shrinking customer demand as a challenge, Finding and Keeping Customers is one of the categories SMEs can browse. With nearly 60% of SMEs saying insufficient support from banks is an obstacle, the Knowledge Centre also covers information on how to access funding and apply for tenders under the Business Opportunities and Support category.
The Workplace category gives advice on remote and hybrid office set-ups, while Business Continuity and Security tackles all-important topics like securing your cloud data or protecting your business from mobile phishing. The last category, Digital and Data, looks at making social media work for SMEs.
Over and above the five topic categories, the company says the Knowledge Centre also shares details on SME solutions and events and offers monthly SME bulletins on stories small businesses should read to stay in the know.
“SMEs only need to go online for immediate access to the fantastic content and functionality that V-Hub offers,” concludes Dooks. “This is a portal we are proud of and will continuously expand on, tackling more and more topics of interest to our local market over time.”
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