Xero Blog

Guest blog post written by Aivee Robinson, Co-Founder and CEO of Catalyser. The pressure from the ongoing pandemic has meant a steady increase in recovery assistance needed by communities around the world.

For many advisors and their small business clients, the turbulence of FY21 proved that their connection is about much more than just numbers. In this series, we ask what they’ve learned from each other, and how their relationship has evolved through one of their toughest years yet.

In February 2020, businesses across Aotearoa were settling into a new year, coming off the back of a relaxing summer break. Concerns about a new coronavirus causing problems globally were in the periphery, but overall it was business as usual for Kiwis. 

It’s fair to say that over the past 16 months or so, we’ve become more digitally-connected than ever before. We can’t underestimate the roles that data and digital technologies continue to play in helping small businesses survive during the pandemic.

Since the year 2000, the world has produced as much plastic as all the preceding years combined. Each year humans produce over 380 million tons of plastic, and up to 50% of that is for single-use purposes.

I joined Xero in the midst of COVID-19 and in the six months I’ve been at the company, I’m yet to meet my own team face-to-face. Remote working has meant that I’ve had to work on my skills and adapt myself to change, and I’ll be the first to admit that this new way of working hasn’t been easy to navigate.

Food deliveries have experienced a significant uptick since the pandemic struck. This gave South Africa-based media owner and social enterprise MotionAds – who started leveraging the ubiquity of food delivery bikes for mobile advertising three years ago – an unexpected and welcome boost.

This year, 4 to 11 July marks NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee) week, an annual celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

At Xero, we know that starting and managing a business can be challenging and making the jump to self-made is never straightforward. We want to change how small businesses are supported, and a big part of that is to help entrepreneurs get started.