The Office of Advocacy, an independent office within the U.S. Small Business Administration, is holding a virtual roundtable on March 23, 2022 to hear directly from small businesses about their views on access to and use of digital tools. The use of digital tools is a key enabler for SMEs to innovate, grow and compete. Its uptake varies significantly across sectors and regions. Beyond training and education gaps and market access barriers, SMEs face challenges regarding access to technologies, data, and finance.
In September 2021, The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) held its inaugural meeting to reaffirm the TTC’s objectives to: coordinating approaches to key global technology, economic, and trade issues; and deepening transatlantic trade and economic relations, basing policies on shared democratic values. Various working groups comprised of federal agencies were formed to support these initiatives. The Office of Advocacy is a member of the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Working Group and is an independent voice for small business within the federal government.
The purpose of the listening sessions with SMEs and underserved communities, as well as the resulting analysis and reporting, is to develop recommendations for U.S. and EU policymakers to implement, including under the TTC, that will help accelerate SME access to and the uptake of digital technologies.
The virtual meeting will begin at 1 p.m. on March 23, 2022, on the Microsoft Teams platform.
Please RSVP to Rosalyn.Steward@sba.gov. A meeting link will be provided to you when you RSVP.
Agenda
1:00 – 1:10 PM Opening Remarks and Welcome
1:10 – 1:50 PM Discussion on SME Access to and Use of Digital Tools
1:50 – 2:00 PM Closing Remarks
Roundtables are open to all interested persons, with the exception of the press, in order to facilitate open and frank discussion on the subject matter. The purpose of these outreach meetings is to exchange opinions, facts and information and to obtain the attendees’ individual views and opinions regarding small business concerns. The meetings are not intended to achieve or communicate any consensus positions of the attendees.
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