Are you an SME in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region and would you also like to do business online? Students from four major courses in the region provide free advice. In the Digitale Werkplaats Arnhem Nijmegen (DWAN), they offer SMEs special advice on online marketing, findability and setting up a website.
Digital Workshop Arnhem Nijmegen
For SMEs, digitalisation is easier said than done. That is why, in early 2020, the higher education institutions launched the Arnhem Nijmegen Digital Workshop on the HAN campus in Arnhem. The students who mentor the entrepreneurs in this workshop are studying at HAN, RU, Rijn IJssel or ROC Nijmegen.
DWAN supports entrepreneurs as they take their first steps into the digital world by exploring the possibilities in a practical way and providing advice.
The workshop is an initiative of HAN University of Applied Sciences, Oost NL, VNO-NCW, Radboud University and Rabobank Arnhem-Nijmegen. It stems from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy’s action plan ‘Accelerating the Digitalisation of SMEs’.
How does it work?
To get started, SME entrepreneurs visit the Digitale Werkplaats website to download a €500 voucher. This is followed by an intake interview. This leads to a bespoke creative session with students, which takes place online via the Miro tool.
During this three-hour session, the entrepreneur and students really delve into the subject matter under the guidance of professionals. Afterwards, the entrepreneur receives a report containing all the ideas generated during the session, along with targeted advice. Finally, there is a consultation to discuss all the services the students can provide for the client.
Big steps in little time
Ben Cornelissen is the project manager at HAN and says: "We know from experience that SMEs generally have limited time and knowledge in the field of online entrepreneurship. With the deployment of our students, who have both the time and the knowledge, these entrepreneurs receive a big boost in online entrepreneurship. With a limited investment of time from the entrepreneur, substantial steps forward are possible."
TIG Academy: a warm recommendation
A number of entrepreneurs have already made use of the DWAN voucher and have benefited greatly from the advice on digitalisation.
For example, entrepreneur Kim Arts of TIG Academy is very satisfied with DWAN. She took part in the Creative Session and received a communication plan that proved successful. As a result, TIG Academy took the next step in digitalisation in early 2022. Together with DWAN, the company has designed a brand book. Arts says of the process: “The process was well prepared by DWAN; there was a clear schedule and it was obvious what I could expect and when. Project management is carried out by DWAN’s own team of professionals. I will certainly recommend the process to other entrepreneurs – in fact, I’ve already done so!”
Subscribe
The SME voucher is available to entrepreneurs in the Arnhem–Nijmegen region who employ between 2 and 50 people. The number of entrepreneurs eligible for the voucher is limited. So if you’re interested, please register via the DWAN website.
Cornelissen adds: “The programme is now really taking off; more and more entrepreneurs are finding their way to us. That’s great, because this year the DWAN is set to run 125 programmes. So if an entrepreneur is still looking for advice on digitalisation, they should take a look at our website.”
