Australian capital cities are losing a record number of people to regional areas, sparked by the impact of Covid-19, and made possible by digital connectivity.
As the trend of digital entrepreneurs in regional towns and cities gains momentum, B2B wholesale marketplace TradeSquare has shared its vision to build an ecosystem of organisations that enable economic recovery and sustainable growth in regional and remote Australian businesses.
TradeSquare, which launched during the pandemic when some state borders were closed and millions of Australians were in partial lockdown, wants to empower and support the next generation of digital entrepreneurs and open up new trading opportunities.
Inspired Candles, a wholesale distributor on TradeSquare, is one such business, founded in Wyoming NSW by Sandi Kruit.
“We are made, owned and operating right here in the country we love and we employ local people to contribute to the multiplier effect,” Kruit said.
“Although there have been challenges including supply shortages, high customer demand and postal delays and working remotely to keep our team safe, they have all made us think differently about our digital connectivity.”
Among the partnerships TradeSquare is building to help support regionalisation is one with new startup Holgro. Founder Laticia Gibson has been filming case studies of city dwellers who have moved to regional towns and seen their business ideas flourish. Holgro is a digital ecosystem which aims to help regional business leaders manage isolation, accessibility to mental, physical, business, and financial support.
“One of the families we filmed had literally only been in the region for three months and already started two businesses that were doing really well,” she told TradeSquare in a recent podcast interview.
“And they were servicing places like Japan, England, as well as their own backyard. They had a shop front, but from a digital perspective, they were able to reach out on an international stage and that kind of stuff is exciting.”
Image caption: Tradesquare founder Einat Sukenik