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Rural small businesses play key factor in American economic growth
Small businesses with less than 50 employees provide 42 % of all jobs in rural America , according to a meta-analysis from SCORE , mentors to America ’ s small businesses and a resource partner of the US Small Business Administration .
Small businesses contribute significantly to the health of rural economies but face a number of challenges , according to SCORE ’ s analysis .
Rural America recently faced its first-ever decade-long population decrease of nearly 300,000 people between 2010 and 2020 .
For small business owners , the shrinking population means fewer customers and employees , which translates to lower profits and labour issues .
Bridget Weston , CEO , Score , said : “ We know that resources differ from community to community , which is why we want entrepreneurs in rural and non-metropolitan areas to know they aren ’ t alone . We ’ re here to help rural small businesses receive the support and guidance they need to start and grow .”
Medcart achieves AU $ 10 million in sales with innovative online marketplace
Marketplacer , a global technology platform that enables brands , retailers , suppliers , communities and innovators to easily build and grow successful online marketplaces at scale , has announced it has enabled Australian health and medical start-up , Medcart , to achieve annual sales of close to AU $ 10 million in less than 12 months .
The idea for MedCart was born over a conversation at the height of the pandemic between old friends . Medcart has since attracted over 80 sellers and more than 50,000 customers to shop and sell on the platform .
The portal is an online marketplace originally designed to streamline the way healthcare organisations and workers locate and procure personal protective equipment ( PPE ).
Yolt to collaborate with October
Due to go live in France , Italy , Spain , the Netherlands and Germany , this deal will see October using Yolt ’ s Account Information Services to utilise open banking data in its credit assessment process for SME lending . The objective is to gain efficiency by replacing bank statements with up-to-date , realtime open banking data .
October ’ s customers will be able to simply link their bank accounts at the point of application , providing access to a broad profile of their businesses ’ affordability and credit worthiness . Since 2016 , October has been using non-standard data in the credit underwriting process , facilitating access to its client information automatically , quickly and in real time – and in turn , increasing the accessibility of credit to many SMEs .
Through this collaboration , Yolt and October will demonstrate how open banking can play an increasingly vital role in providing greater financial inclusion for SMEs . �
With expansive growth , Medcart is now extending its offering into pharmacy , health and beauty .
Medcart provides a trusted destination to find and buy all your health and medical supplies in one place .
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