Winrock International of Little Rock announced Wednesday the launch of its Small Business E-commerce Local Learning (SELL) project to support small businesses in northwest Arkansas.
The project is funded by the Walton Family Foundation. Winrock said SELL will leverage its entrepreneurial programming support, coaching and mentorship to provide websites, e-commerce platforms, training and long-term consultation to 150 small businesses in Benton and Washington counties following the challenges they’ve faced amid the pandemic.
More: Apply for the program here.
Winrock, citing market research firm Clutch, said e-commerce is growing 23% a year but 46 % of American small businesses do not have a website, often due to a lack of available time, expertise and resources.
“Traditional brick and mortar small businesses have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic because of lower foot traffic,” Winrock U.S. Programs Senior Director Linsley Kinkade said in a news release.
“Conversely, we’ve seen companies that pivoted and were prepared for online sales make it through the economic challenges. We look forward to connecting small businesses in northwest Arkansas with the capabilities, training and support to break into online sales.”
