Intelligent SME.tech Issue 07 | Page 9

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Huawei launches SME support programme in APAC to drive economic recovery

Global leading ICT provider , Huawei , launched its SME Support Programme with trusted ecosystem partners in Asia Pacific , aiming to deliver further technical support for economic recovery amid the fight against the pandemic in the region .

Small and medium enterprises ( SMEs ) are the engines of growth and innovation in the APEC region . They account for over 97 % of all business and employ over half of the workforce across APEC economies . They contribute significantly to economic growth , with their share of GDP ranging from 40 % to 60 % in most APEC economies , according to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation .

The pandemic has forced businesses to accelerate their Digital Transformation and move to the cloud one to three years ahead of schedule . HUAWEI CLOUD is currently working with over 19,000 partners and 1.6 million developers .

For the SME support programme , which will be available until December 31 , each eligible SME applicant could receive coupons worth up to US $ 3,000 and a free professional consulting service .

London start-up launches one-stop-shop travel app

New travel app , Flytinary , aims to provide a one-stop travel experience which takes the legwork out of arranging trips and gets its users amazing prices .

The all-encompassing app , available on iOS and Android devices , uses sophisticated algorithms to find the cheapest flights and features a choice of curated accommodation through tie-ups with Booking . com , Hostelworld and Airbnb , as well as memorable experiences in association with Tripadvisor and an innovative , in-destination , co-working space finder .

“ We can save users over £ 500 on bookings , not to mention the hours saved in researching and planning their trip on multiple platforms ”, said Founder , Prince Rauf . “ Think of Flytinary as a travel concierge that acts like the lovechild of Tinder for holidays ( using our swipe for your next trip tool ) and the Wikipedia of destinations .”

There is information on everything from the type of plug you ’ ll need for your destination to the best places to change money .

Almost half of US office workers scared to return to offices

Forty-two percent of US office workers have said catching COVID-19 as a direct result of being back in contact with colleagues is what worries them the most about returning to offices , a new report has found .

Over a third ( 39 %) of workers said they were most fearful of contracting COVID-19 through contamination of shared office devices and equipment such as computers and keyboards .

The Supporting Your Remote Workforce in 2021 and Beyond report , commissioned by Smart Locker Provider Velocity Smart Technology , showed employees have big concerns on returning to the office and what measures will be in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 .

Most surprising , considering some reluctance to mandatory mask wearing in some US states , almost three quarters of US office workers ( 70 %) would welcome mandatory mask wearing to be in force . Much more popular than in the UK , with just over half ( 52 %) supporting this initiative .