The retail bank, payments and shopping service Klarna has announced the names of the 100 lucky winners of its inaugural £3 million Small Business Support Package.
The package is part of Klarna’s commitment to supporting the SME sector to drive growth and recovery across Britain’s small businesses.
Winners include:
- SOS – a sustainable activewear brand with items made from recycled ocean plastics;
- Booheads – makers of biodegradable bamboo electric toothbrush heads;
- Pantee – a retailer making recycled underwear from the overproduction of t-shirts in the fashion industry;
- UpCircle Beauty – a skincare brand made from by-product ingredients salvaged from other industries, such as the food and drink industry.
For the full list of winners, please visit here.
- Sustainability Champion
- Retail Innovator
- Pandemic Impact
- Omnichannel Trailblazer.
The businesses are based across the United Kingdom and operate in a variety of sectors including fashion, beauty, automotive and sports, and homeware. Recipients range from micro-businesses with a £5,000 turnover to those growing rapidly and with a yearly turnover of £2.5 million.
Each winning SME will receive:
- Specialist support across numerous elements of their business operations
- Complimentary use of Klarna’s Pay later products for 1 year
- WeWork All Access passes for 3 months
- £15,000 worth of Klarna media services including in-app advertising, social media, and promotional support on the Klarna app
Alongside the package, Klarna also recently launched its Accelerator Programme, which consists of a ten-part series of online masterclasses with industry experts, providing actionable insight and advice to help boost businesses.
These are available to all the applicants, not just the winning SMEs, and have already benefited over 17,000 small business employees.
Alex Marsh said: “The retail industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and British SMEs have faced the brunt of it. At Klarna, we’ve long worked with businesses of all sizes and have always been focussed on supporting SMEs in particular. It was an honour working together with our partners to judge the inaugural SME Support Package. It was certainly a hard decision but the businesses we have chosen are truly making a difference across the industry, from sustainability to innovation, and we’re excited to be part of their future growth.”
Mathieu Proust said: “It was a privilege to join the judging panel for Klarna’s Small Business Support Package and to hear from so many impressive applicants. The last 18 months has presented huge challenges to businesses, particularly the retail SME community, and so it is great to be involved in this support package. We look forward to seeing what these exciting and innovative companies go on to achieve.”
Emma Jones added: “Small business owners have had their heads down over the past year working on sales, adapting, fund-raising and more. Programmes and competitions such as these offer an opportunity to mark that hard work and allow founders a moment to pause and celebrate their achievements. It was a pleasure to be part of it and good luck to all entrants for success in the coming year.”
Continue reading: In Conversation: Alex Marsh, Klarna at Fintech Week London
