Targeted at both aspiring and current small business owners, especially those managing teams of up to ten employees, the training aims to enhance their startup capabilities and growth potential. The courses focus on streamlining operations and exploring expansion opportunities.

In alliance with Visa, Glovo's online series seeks to provide critical assistance to SMEs at a time when they face challenges such as complex regulations, limited digital infrastructure, and a lack of digital expertise. The curriculum addresses key business areas, including digital payments, marketing, social media, and financial management. Over 100 videos will be made available in nine countries across southwest Europe and Africa (Spain, Portugal, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria), reaching out to more than 40,000 SMEs.

The inception of this broader initiative was a pilot programme by Glovo and Visa in Morocco last year, involving over 30 local partners in an in-person workshop. This pilot, which covered digital marketing, cash flow management, and Glovo Ads, garnered feedback instrumental in shaping the online courses now offered through the Visa collaboration.

Sébastien Pellion, Head of Impact and Sustainability at Glovo said: “We are using this opportunity to further our offering to SMEs and to strengthen a collaborative ecosystem for entrepreneurs and business owners that shape our cities. Only 20% of SMEs in the markets where we operate sell via digital channels, resulting in a huge potential for them to tap into new customer bases. Partnering with Visa is another opportunity to support SMEs on their digitalisation journey and accelerate small and independent businesses in regions like Africa, which has ample opportunities for local business owners. We’re confident that Visa can aid us in fuelling local economies through formalised, community-driven initiatives.”

Carl Manlan, Vice President and Head of Social Impact, CEMEA, Visa said: “Visa acknowledges that SMEs are the backbone of economic growth and inclusion and equipping them with innovative solutions and resources with our partners is essential. Small, independent businesses account for more than half of Europe’s GDP and employ around 100 million people. In Africa, SMEs account for 95% of all registered businesses and contribute to about 50% of the total GDP in Sub-Saharan countries. Globally we are moving from hundreds of millions of sellers – large and small – to billions of sellers around the world. Anyone today can be a seller – people reselling second-hand items via the circular economy; people working in the gig economy; or those in the creator economy. Visa is working to provide services at scale to reach these sellers and help them flourish. This is why we are proud to collaborate with Glovo and leverage the option of visual training to help provide these 40,000 SMEs with the opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge and overcome the challenges of digitisation and leverage the opportunities of e-commerce and digital payments.”