Britain's small businesses are being given a much-needed boost with a new package of support and mentoring.

Small Business Saturday, now in its eighth year, will launch the UK’s first online roadshow for over thirty towns and cities affected by the pandemic.

Kicking off in Scotland on November 2nd, the tour will ‘zoom into’ locations across the country each weekday; reaching everywhere from city centres like Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Cardiff, to rural communities such as Pateley Bridge in the Yorkshire Dales and Bodmin in Cornwall.

“This year has been incredibly tough for small businesses – financially, operationally, mentally and emotionally. This means our mission to support and celebrate small businesses across the UK becomes even more vital and ambitious,” said Michelle Ovens, director of Small Business Saturday UK.

“While we’re obviously sad not to be visiting small businesses on the ground, we are excited to use online to reach more people than ever, and bring small businesses and their communities a tremendously useful package of support. 

"This is all part of our promise to make this year’s Small Business Saturday the best and most important one yet.”

The online roadshow -  which will be supported by BT Skills for Tomorrow - will include free virtual mentoring advice on a range of topics, from digital marketing, to time and money management. 

Live interviews and workshops with local businesses, experts, dignitaries and supporters of the campaign will also be streamed via Small Business Saturday UK’s Facebook page, along with a fun-filled daily ‘Happy Hour’ giveaway broadcast.

“Despite this year being phenomenally tough for small businesses across the UK, we have seen many businesses embrace the benefits that being more digital can bring; for them, their employees and their customers,” said BT's Peter Oliver. 

“To make that leap, they need support and encouragement. The Tour 2020 is another great initiative from the Small Business Saturday team and we’re delighted to be involved. 

We all have a role to play in helping our small business community and we look forward to offering mentoring support and helping them to develop their digital skills through our BT Skills for Tomorrow programme.”

Small businesses can book virtual one-to-one mentoring sessions with local experts via the ‘My Business Section’ on the Small Business Saturday website. 

A grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, Small Business Saturday was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010. American Express remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its avid championing of the UK high street and commitment to encourage consumers to shop small.