12+ Tools to Digitise The Way We Do Business

For many, the year 2020 held a special promise. However, the highly contagious COVID-19 virus swept the world and with it brought such an urgent need for social distancing that it required commerce to essentially grind to a halt. Businesses with stronger technological adoption were able to mitigate some of the resulting disruption but most simply were not equipped to pivot or transition to work-from-home arrangements.

As part of its emergency response efforts, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) engaged Sade Jemmott Consulting to design an online course to build the capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Barbados and throughout the Eastern Caribbean to do digital business and prepare for what they have dubbed the #eFuture

Beyond simply recovering from the pandemic, many have suggested that it presents entrepreneurs and the MSMEs with an opportunity for transformation. By retooling and digitising the way we do business, it is expected that the business community will become far more resilient and cognizant of the need to safeguard business continuity in a region vulnerable to man-made threats and plagued by natural disasters.

In this connection, THE KEY: Your Digital Business Toolkit serves as a free introduction to over 12 no/low cost software tools, identifies alternatives and provides access to several additional resources. Among these were:

	G SUITE for document creation, collaboration & storage
	ASANA for project management
	SLACK for team messaging
	ZOOM for meeting and video conferencing
	CANVA for graphic design
	MAILCHIMP for email marketing
	GRAMMARLY for content editing
	THINKIFIC for online training
	CLOCKIFY for time tracking
	SETMORE for bookings and appointment scheduling
	WAVES for accounting and invoicing
	mMONEY for digital payments
	HEADSPACE for meditation & mindfulness