Facebook: $ 100 million for small businesses

The company announced a support program for pending bills for companies owned by women and minorities. By purchasing pending invoices, the Facebook Invoice Fast Track program puts money in the hands of small businesses that would otherwise have to wait weeks if not months to receive payment from their customers. The program aims to build long-term loyalty from small businesses, many of which then rely on the social network to place ads targeted to specific demographic groups based on their services. Businesses can send pending invoices of as little as $ 1,000, and if accepted, Facebook will pay them within a few days. The customers then pay Facebook the pending invoices under the same conditions they had agreed upon. For Facebook, which generated nearly $ 86 billion in revenue in 2020, it is certainly easier to sustain unpaid credit than it is for small businesses. “Globally, 18% of small businesses said they had due to close, down from 24% in February. In the United States, both numbers are slightly lower, at 16% and 22% respectively. However, of those companies that still operate globally, the percentage of those that reduced their business increased, from 30% in February to 36% in July. Women and minority-run businesses are even more likely to close than the global average. 20% of women-led businesses have been closed globally, compared with 16% of men-led ones. In the US, Hispanic-led businesses were even more likely to close at 24%. Minority-led companies in the US are also more likely to report lower sales than the same period last year, 44%, compared to 29% for other small businesses. ”Many small businesses have been successful in moving online. “The use of digital tools has increased during the pandemic by up 88%. For some, moving online has made the difference between staying afloat or going to the bottom. For others, it gave them a whole new lease on life. However, most small businesses are still in financial trouble. 60% said they had some form of difficulty paying business-related expenses and about a quarter reported having difficulty paying loans or debts (26%), utility bills (25%), rent (25%) and salaries of employees (24%). With these challenges in mind, Facebook is celebrating National Small Business Week in the United States by announcing new programs, tools and resources to help small businesses, including The Good Ideas Exchange. Next month, business leaders from Facebook, American Express, HubSpot, Indeed, UPS, Vimeo and others will gather to hear from small business owners about some of the biggest challenges they are facing. ” Facebook is drastically expanding the program and will purchase up to $ 100 million in outstanding invoices. It is estimated that this will support around 30,000 small businesses. Interested companies will be able to begin applying on October 1 after the program is officially expanded, Facebook said.