A new report has revealed that more than a quarter (26%) of small business owners in the UK believe that they will be forced to cease trading if the outlook for their business does not improve - a potentially detrimental blow to the UK economy.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has launched a new Business Council to fuel economic growth and make the UK a leading hub to do business.

One Young World, the global community for young leaders, has announced the winners of its global Entrepreneur of the Year Award, this year supported by TFG Asset Management.

Thunes, the global B2B payment infrastructure platform, has announced the addition of three prominent investors – Visa, EDBI, and Endeavor Catalyst – to its Series C funding round, supporting its mission to address the inefficiencies of moving money internationally and create a next-generation payment system that is secure, instant and transparent.

Cloud communications and contact centre provider Ringover, has announced that it has been rated a High Performer in the G2 Grid Report for Contact Centre, Call Tracking, and VoIP Services for Spring 2023.

Hands In, the group payments solution provider, is excited to announce its strategic partnership with inai, the APAC regional payment specialist. This pioneering collaboration aims to spearhead transformative growth in the travel, leisure, and hospitality sector, offering innovative payment solutions to clients in Europe and expanding into the Asia-Pacific, Australian, and China (APAC) markets.

“We have shrunk their repair times from weeks to days, and even to just a few hours” is what Fitim Mehmeti Co-Founder & CSO of Timely, the Swiss-German based, pan-European inventory management startup said it saved HAUSER refrigeration technology in Austria in its first year. Now, having grown to over 300 clients across Europe serviced by a 30+ team, it is coming to the UK to help our businesses do the same.

Raising capital during an economic downturn can be a challenging endeavour, as the fear of dilution and the need for financial stability become paramount. Attempting to raise during a downturn presents various hurdles including longer timelines, risk-averse investors, and downward shifts in the company valuation.

AWS has announced the 13 startups selected to participate in the AWS European Defence Accelerator, providing solutions to help the European Defence industry enhance its energy resilience, secure information sharing, sensing and decision making, quantum, and cyber resilience for land, air, maritime, space, and cyber domain missions.

Orbital Composites (Orbital), an innovative deep tech startup pioneering in-space manufacturing technologies, has announced that it has been awarded a $1.7 million US Space Force SpaceWERX Orbital Prime Direct-to-Phase-II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. The award is intended to further the development of In-space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) of antennas, a groundbreaking area where Orbital Composites has shown exceptional promise.   

Small businesses face an uphill battle in capturing the hearts of younger customers, as a mere 22% of Gen Z believe their customer service rivals that of larger competitors.

In today's fast-paced and changeable landscape, cutting through chaos is essential for a business to maintain its competitive edge. Disruption and uncertainty pose significant challenges, making it crucial for businesses to find the right ways to navigate the changing landscape.

The head of the Financial Conduct Authority has said that artificial intelligence could disrupt the financial services sector in “ways and at a scale not seen before”, warning that the regulator would be forced to take action against AI-based fraud.

Data-rich generative artificial intelligence (AI) will drive modern day business automation, says Lee Chin Jian, Vice President at DAI Magister.

Public, a US-based multi-asset investing platform, has launched in the United Kingdom, entering its first market outside the United States. With the firm’s UK expansion, Public aims to be the preeminent place to invest in US-listed equities, offering over 5,000 stocks, deep data and insights, and a simple and transparent fee structure with zero commission trading and low FX fees.

BrainBox AI announced the close of its fundraising round at $30 million, furthering its mission of delivering scalable AI-driven solutions to decarbonise the built environment.

More than one in three (35%) business leaders are reluctant to implement AI as they perceive it to be too expensive, meaning they miss out on its boundless capabilities such as greater efficiency and productivity.

GET Protocol, the NFT ticketing innovator, has raised $4.5 million in a seed round to ensure continuity and is poised to significantly disrupt the ticketing industry.

Over a million small and medium sized businesses across the UK have upskilled their digital capabilities thanks to the free business guidance and training available from Vodafone via platforms such as V-Hub.

Outverse, the community platform for modern SaaS companies, has announced that it has raised $6 million in a seed round led by Wing VC. Also participating in the round are Notion Capital, Seedcamp, Connect Ventures, and Tiny VC.