ClearBank and Tide have announced that they are working together again to help UK SMEs turn recovery from the coronavirus crisis into a growth opportunity. In collaboration with Tide, ClearBank has applied for two grants from Pool E of the Capability and Innovation Fund, worth £25m and £35m, that form part of the £775m RBS Alternative Remedies Package.

Innovation has never been more important, and in the current climate it is great to see six more startups join the latest CRL (Central Research Laboratory) accelerator programme, which, for the first time has attracted a major sponsor, Mouser Electronics.

As businesses worldwide begin coming out of lockdown into uncharted territory, adapting and surviving the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 is imperative as consumer behaviour, namely spending habits, continue to rapidly change. Alongside a 200% rise in 'first-time' online purchases in April, Econsultancy recently reported a 33% increase in 'online banking or use of mobile apps and payment methods'.

Four Somerset District Councils have joined forces to fund and launch a new scheme to give startups and early stage businesses the best chance of success. Called Somerset Catalyst, it is part of a wider business support programme that is rolling out across the county. Applications for the programme commencing in September 2020 are now invited.

Research has shown that UK small and medium businesses are owed as much as £50bn in late payments at any one time, with the situation only likely to get worse in the current climate. In response to this late payment epidemic, today sees the launch of itsettled, an automated, proven and legally compliant process for SME’s to chase their outstanding invoices.

Schneider Electric and Sustainable Ventures have named the finalists of their Net Zero Home Programme. The joint venture aims to find the most innovative net zero home solutions to help accelerate the net zero home market.

Israeli startup Rise.ai, which offers AI-driven customer re-engagement solutions, has been selected by Google to help businesses offer digital gift cards through their public listing on Google My Business (GMB). The agreement with Google is Rise.ai’s strategy to enable small and medium businesses to survive and even thrive during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

Budding entrepreneurs looking to build something new for social good after COVID-19 could find the ideal partner and supporter via the Impact Central accelerator programme, mentor network and angel investor platform. The six-month programme is designed to help new businesses that will help rebuild society and the environment, as the UK tries to find a future beyond COVID-19.

Blenheim Chalcot, the UK-based digital venture builder, and Imperial College London welcomed its first business members to Scale Space on Imperial’s White City campus this week. This new 200,000ft2 facility, will be home to scale ups and innovative businesses across the technology, digital and life-sciences sectors.

Provider of smart technology solutions for the manufacturing industry, ThingTrax has announced the close of a $1m seed round led by SuperSeed, investing alongside industrial specialist Sumaria.

Online multimedia sales acceleration platform, Crikle has announced full availability of its browser-based application set to transform the guided selling experience in the age of distance selling. Crikle offers a secure online sales consultation and conversion platform that organisations can white label to deliver an optimised, branded digital buying and selling experience for clients.

REACH has opened applications for the inaugural class from its newest region, REACH UK. The technology scale up programme was created by Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors®.

It was recently reported by manufacturer lobby group, Make UL and Santander UK that the effects from COVID-19 could cost the sector a potential £35.7bn in Gross Added Value this year alone, as output has fallen to an all-time low-leading to implications that the UK’s manufacturing growth will suffer from these effects until 2022.

A new digital platform is empowering utilities field teams and managers to make data-driven decisions in real time, leading to greater safety, productivity and quality assurance.

New research from Superscript, the British business insurance challenger which recently re-branded from Digital Risks, has revealed the true extent to which UK SMEs have been affected by COVID-19.

With the furlough scheme drawing to a close in October, a surge in unemployment is on the cards. Only a third of businesses said that they would definitely retain all of their furloughed staff, while nearly one in five (18%) indicated that they would not be doing so.

The Government has now confirmed that the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF), the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF) and the Discretionary Grant Fund allocated to Local Authorities to pay businesses suffering from the impact of COVID-19 should close by Friday 28th August 2020.

Online learning platform, Coursera has partnered with Digital Boost UK, a partnership with BCG Digital Ventures and Founders4Schools, to offer organisations and charities affected by the pandemic access to digital skills. The partnership is made possible by Coursera’s Workforce Recovery Initiative, where any state and country can provide unemployed workers with free access to online learning.

Global small business platform, Xero has announced it will host a free to watch content series called Xero On Air in September, designed to connect, inspire and share information with its accountant and bookkeeper partners and small business customers around the world.