Visa Expands Practical Business Skills – Free Education Resources for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

03/12/2021

Practical Business Skills provides free business skills education to help SMB owners build stronger, digitally enabled businesses

 

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, today announced the expansion of Practical Business Skills1, a global digital platform delivering free education resources to help small and micro business (SMB) owners make confident, informed decisions to grow their businesses. The resources are available in English for SMBs in Vietnam to increase global accessibility.

“SMBs are the backbone of our economy. It is crucial to empower SMB-owners with knowledge, skills, and access to services that support them in rebuilding -or starting- stronger, digitally enabled businesses,” explains Ms. Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa Country Manager for Vietnam and Laos. “Practical Business Skills is part of Visa’s commitment to provide resources and knowledge to help drive inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth for entrepreneurs, businesses and communities here in Vietnam and around the world.”

SMBs account for more than 90% of global businesses and are the source of 50% to 60% of global employment.2 With the one-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic approaching, the SMB community needs support to continue adapting, as their contribution to their communities and the global economy cannot be overstated.

A recent survey announced during Online Marketing Forum 2020 also showed some interesting trends in Vietnamese consumers’ online behavior following Covid-19. Sixty three percent of consumers continue to order food online, 67% continue online shopping, while 44% said they won’t revert to shopping in physical stores once they buy products online. Businesses who can adapt to changes and seize the opportunity are the ones that will thrive in this new environment3.

Practical Business Skills is built on Visa’s global expertise in financial education and offers growth-minded entrepreneur tools to help start, manage and expand a business. With more than 50 online learning modules, the platform addresses the needs at various stages of the business lifecycles:

 

  • Starting a business, with tools for prospective entrepreneurs to understand and evaluate the steps involved in opening, financing, running and marketing a company.
  • Managing a business, with information on day-to-day business management, including templates for financial and cash flows analysis, and resources to promote sales.
  • Building and growing, with tactics on how to drive businesses into a more profitable long-term success.

Visa is committed to providing resources that enable SMBs to grow and bounce back from Covid-19. As a company that enables digital payments at nearly 70 million merchant locations around the world, Visa’s priority is to help SMBs thrive at every step.

 

 

1 https://www.practicalbusinessskills.org/

2 Source: The World Bank https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/smefinance

3 https://vneconomy.vn/bung-no-mua-sam-online-thoi-covid-19-20201102124838357.htm

 

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device, for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.

 

About the Visa Foundation

The Visa Foundation seeks to support inclusive economies where individuals, businesses and communities can thrive. Through grant making and investing, the Foundation prioritizes the resilience and growth of micro and small businesses that benefit women. The Foundation also supports broader community needs and disaster response in times of crisis. The Visa Foundation is registered in the U.S. as a 501(c)3 entity. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/philanthropy/visa-foundation.html.