The Government in collaboration with the SME Chamber launched an information campaign entitled ‘Be Efficient. Save Energy!’

The Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise,together with the Malta Chamber of SMEs and other social partners, launched an information campaign promoting energy efficiency for businesses in Malta and Gozo.

The campaign, ‘Be Efficient. Save Energy!’ will provide guidance on how different economic sectors can reduce energy consumption in their operations.

With the participation of nine associations representing the island’s principal economic sectors, this campaign was planned in response to these organisations’ proposal to participate in the government’s efforts to promote responsible energy use.

“After launching the educational campaign for efficient energy use in households and introducing energy saving initiatives for the public sector, we were approached by some associations who wanted to help in this initiative. In this regard, the government had already embarked on its plan to ensure energy price stability. Therefore, as a ministry we worked to develop an information campaign on sustainable and efficient energy use,” explained Minister for theEnvironment, Energy and Enterprise Miriam Dalli.

The campaign will be spread over several months and will see business and professional organisations sharing suggestions with their members, on how they can consume less energy, according to their sector, and explain how with small changes and environmental investments can lead to drastic reductions in energy costs and carbon footprint.

Thus, with the use of social media, e-newsletters, television adverts and other communications, this campaign will encourage more businesses to join in this initiative towards modern and sustainable operations, which will ultimately lead to a more sustainable future in energyconsumption.

On an international level, 2022 was a critical year for the energy sector, as energy prices reached unprecedent levels. In Malta, the government worked to ensure stability, a commitment which was also sustained in this year’s budget. At thesame time, the environment ministry is committed to continue pushing forward its policy and vision for increased investment in renewable energy, efficiency and sustainable technologies. This also includes several support schemes by different entities within the same ministry.

“Through this campaign we are presenting businesses with energy saving tips chosen by technical experts working in different sectors.We strongly believe that after witnessing the challenges experienced by other countries because of the ongoing energy crisis, everyone acknowledges the importance of energy efficiency,” stated Minister Miriam Dalli.More information about this campaign can be obtained from the websites of the participating associations.

Have you moved yet? …to a Unified Commercial Environment?

Move from a traditional cash register to a Cloud POS System for a real-time, data-ready approach and an efficient in-store purchasing experience.

There has never been a better time for your retail operations to embrace technology and adopt tools provided by the cloud to power your business. Digitise your Point of Sale system today to accelerate success by streamlining your in-store processes so you can focus on driving the business forward.

ZeroBubble’s mission is to help smooth this seemingly painful exercise with the least possible disruptions to your business operations.

“At ZeroBubble, we take great care in understanding our customer’s pain points, and we help them find the right tools they need to drive their retail business forward. We know it’s challenging to navigate through the different layers of complexity to set up a robust POS system, and we make that journey easy for our customers,” states Chris Ellul, ZeroBubble’s managing director.

Why the Cloud?

One of the key benefits of a cloud environment is scalability. Choose the tools that work for you today but give you the flexibility to grow as your business expands.

Stay ahead of your competition, and sell more easily and at an affordable price. Our cloud-based POS systems will help you take your retail business into the future. The responsive designs give you, your staff and your customers the flexibility to use any device and still enjoy the same experience.

Cloud POS systems from ZeroBubble are developed as Unified Commercial tools gathering a range of functionality around customer experience and optimising the daily sales process.

 

Get real-time information. Make a difference in your sales strategy by keeping track of the latest inventory, product and customer information—the perfect tool to upsell and manage stock without missing a beat.

Take strategic decisions about your inventory, prices, costs and procurement, access your stock levels anytime, from anywhere, and process your purchases swiftly.

Improved Catalogue & Product detail. Maximise sales opportunities with easy access to all products in the cloud. Sell any product, anywhere, anytime. Provide detailed information about each product, building trust among customers.

Customer information is saved in real-time. Check order history to give your customers a personalised shopping experience and excellent service.

Boost your retail business with unified stock management and increased in-store, online and cross-channel fulfilment. Integrating into your existing e-commerce stores and other sales channels is easy.

Additional benefits:

  • e-Commerce integration

  • Accounting tools integration*

  • Payment Integrations

  • Customer Loyalty programs

  • In-store Gift Cards

  • Weighing Scale Integration

 

“You should focus on your business while we focus on the technology you need to drive your business. Our solutions will turbo-charge your operations and enable true omnichannel retail. This is the future of retail, and ZeroBubble is 100% committed to helping you have a smooth transition.” comments Luke from the implementation team at ZeroBubble.

 

Discover ZeroBubble’s various packages for SMEs of different sizes, ambitions and industry verticals.

 

About ZeroBubble

ZeroBubble is a retail tech hub for Small to Medium Retail Businesses. We provide cash register hardware, supplies and rental services with a state-of-the-art service centre to cater for repairs and reprogramming cash registers. We also offer the latest Cloud POS Solutions for the retail industry and Hospitality. In addition, we supply commodity accessories such as receipt rolls, cash till drawers, barcode scanners, retail hardware, and more.

Visit our outlet at 1 Marina Street Pieta outlet (corner with Telgha ta Gwadamangia) and find out how we can future-proof your business.

| zerobubble.mt | +356 7933 7777

SME Chamber and HSBC Malta Foundation organises the 5th webinar on sustainable practices for your business

The Malta Chamber of SMEs and HSBC Malta Foundation organised the 5th webinar throughout 2022 entitled Sustainability for Small Businesses.

The webinar was delivered by Dr Roberta Lepre from WEAVE CONSULTING and focused on case studies relating to sustainability and grants and funding schemes available for businesses.

The session was moderated by Mr Glenn Bugeja.

Click here to view webinar.

Should you wish to join our next session please contact us on .

More consumers shopping during Black Friday but average spend lower

This Black Friday is the closest one to pre-Covid levels with shoppers flocking the streets for Black Friday, from the early hours of the day. Shop owners explain how the eagerness and will to shop is evident but at the same time cutomers are also being more careful in their spending.

Attributing the lower spending to inflationary issues, and this affecting purchasing power, consumers appear to have retained some of the spending trends we have seen during Covid, with appliances, household electronics and brown goods, having a very good November.

Similarly, more affordable brands within the fashion industry and costume jewellery exceeded expectations since they did very well. High end brands with a higher price tag did not do so well in comparison.

It is evident that different sectors have started adopting different strategies in how they time their offers. Some have extended their offers to cover most of November while others are sticking to the black Friday weekend.

Overall businesses are very pleased that despite the negative global feeling and inflationary pressures, they saw their clients eager once again on Black Friday, eager to shop and also to buy gifts. Black Friday has once again started establishing itself as a very important milestone for businesses, following 2 years of Covid downturn.

Successful SME 2022 Conference attracts 300 business owners

The Malta Chamber of SMEs in collaboration with Business first and Malta Enterprise on Thursday organised the SME Conference 2022 with the main theme being SMEs Maximising resources.

300 participants attended the conference which focused on the main challenges and businesses are facing. This includes boosting productivity and employee retention, sourcing foreign workers of quality, digital investments and achieving sustainability.

Malta Chamber of SMEs President Mr Paul Abela said that now that Covid is something of the past, we encourage SME’s to continue to look forward and invest, while working to Maximise their resources in order to combat the current challenges.

Enterprise Minister Hon. Miriam Dalli reiterated the Government’s commitment to support companies in their twin transition towards a sustainable and digital business model whilst becoming more competitive. “Budget 2023 will see the doubling of the financial assistance provided to companies by Malta Enterprise, which together with the Family Business Office and Business First will remain a key enabler of growth for our SMEs in the years to come,” Minister Dalli said.

Hon. Silvio Schembri, Minister for the Economy, EU Funds and Lands, during his address to small and medium-sized businesses stated that the Government’s assistance to businesses is helping to operate smoothly and further scaling up their operations.

Among the measures, he mentioned the recovery plan where businesses can apply for funds to further improve their operation, both in digital and energy-efficient terms.

The SME Conference is well renowned for its organised networking sessions and participants had the opportunity to network with fellow business people from different sectors.

SME Chamber participated during a conference by the Malta Sustainability Forum organised by APS Bank

The discussion focused on the Voluntary Occupational Retirement Pension

SME Chamber Vice President, Michael Galea, participated in a panel discussion during a conference by the Malta Sustainability Forum organised by APS Bank.
The panel discussed the outcome of the survey findings held recently by Misco for APS bank with the theme “Voluntary Occupational Retirement Pension” bridging the pension gap.

The conference focused on the pension sustainability and adequacy which were held through a broad spectrum of speakers, including the finance minister Mr Clyde Caruana, social partners, employers, unions and other local and foreign experts.

The topics addressed by Mr Galea revolved around the property dynamics, the knock on effect of the property market on the Maltese economy. The trust that the Maltese people have towards this sector in terms of capital appreciation and return on investment which can serve as a second pension when the owner of the property arrives at retirement age.

The take up of the Voluntary Occupational Retirement Scheme was also addressed and what challenges the market is facing to reach the targets that one expects after seven years from the launch in 2015.

As a way forward it is being recommended that an automatic enrolment pension scheme will replace the existing scheme so as to encourage more people taking on the second pillar pension even from an early stage from when a person gets employed. It is being recommended that this scheme will also have an opt out option.

Black Friday 2022 – SME Chamber launches new platform to promote Malta’s Black Friday deals

Visit www.blackfridaymalta.eu for the latest black friday offers in Malta

The Malta Chamber of SMEs on Friday launched this year’s black friday campaign. For this year’s edition, the SME Chamber launch a new website, www.blackfridaymalta.eu, a website to promote businesses black friday offers but also provides an easy tool for customers to search for offers.

This initiative was launch during a press conference addressed by the Minister for the Economy, European Funds and Lands Silvio Schembri. Minister Schembri said that this initiative provides a new tool for businesses and customers which makes Black Friday a more successful initiative.

Paul Abela, President of the SME Chamber, said that Black friday makes November a very important month for businesses. He encouraged more traders to offer offers on the new website.

Abigail Mamo, CEO of  the Malta s Chamber, said that customers will have the opportunity to search for offers either by category and sector or by the offer percentage, with available offers up to 70%, Ms Agius Mamo explained that businesses may include their offers by creating an account.

 

The first edition of the Malta Business Awards – 24 Businesses chosen as winners

On Friday evening 24 local businesses received the highest honours in the local business scene at the very first edition of the Malta Business Awards which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

The Malta Business Awards were organized by the Malta Chamber of SMEs in partnership with Malta Enterprise to recognize the work of Maltese businesses, honouring some of the best businesses in various prestigious categories including the SME of the Year, Local Cultural Contributor, Gozo Business of the Year and the highest honour, the President’s Choice Award.

With over 300 nominations in the different categories presented, 100 finalists were chosen by independent judges during the first round, with the winners being chosen after a second round of judging following pitches put forward by the finalists.

The event was attended by over 550 people representing local businesses and major stakeholders in the industry.

The Minister for the Environment, Enterprise and Energy , Hon. Miriam Dalli said: “The first edition of the Malta Business Awards served as a showcase of our nation’s leading entrepreneurs and businesses, who despite the ongoing challenges still strive to produce and deliver excellent products and services. I look forward to seeing more businesses adopt innovative and sustainable solutions, giving their operations a competitive edge.

Paul Abela, President of the Malta Chamber of SMEs highlighted the fact that Maltese businesses had been waiting for an evening like this for a very long time and that it has now finally arrived.

Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO, Abigail Agius Mamo said that it was a great honour that together with Malta Enterprise such awards were created in order to recognize Maltese business.

Malta Enterprise CEO, Kurt Farrugia said: “Our country has a strong and resilient business community and our mission as Malta Enterprise is to see that Maltese business is further strengthened and that it regenerates itself to be stronger in its future endeavours. Our schemes are designed to support businesses in their path towards growth. Tonight’s awards are a celebration of all the good that Maltese and Gozitan businesses and workers have to offer.”

 

Press Release BUDGET 2023: A budget of continuation that safeguards Malta from energy price hikes but more action on other crucial challenges for business missing

The Malta Chamber of SMEs welcomes the continued confirmation that the Government will be extending the safety net of protecting Malta from the international hikes of energy prices. This is by far the biggest threat Malta is facing at the moment.

Another positive element found in this Budget is the extension and widening of the Rent Subsidy Scheme, as proposed by the Malta Chamber of SMEs, that will help Malta mitigate the impact of freight costs. Positively noted is the work being done to tackle issues with banking services and the increased importance being given to aesthetics in the development of buildings.

Apart from this the budget is a continuation of the 2022 budget, where it concerns SMEs.

Disappointingly, the Budget fails to effectively tackle other major challenges which are choking businesses. Very serious issues have merely been given a mentioned in this Budget speech, which falls too short from the action that Malta should be taking at the moment, as a stage of implementation.

The serious employment crisis, suffocating bureaucracy and impossible traffic, merited more than simply being mentioned in this budget. These issues are seriously affecting productivity and we cannot afford to start thinking of policies now, with no solution, nowhere on the horizon.