The Bitwise partnership aims to advance the digital literacy of 1,500 business owners in Fresno. Here’s how

Bitwise Industries and the City of Fresno are launching a new effort to help local small business owners improve their information technology and digital literacy.

Bitwise, a self-proclaimed hub for technological innovation and entrepreneurship founded in 2013, will host the new Digital Empowerment Center. “This collaboration with the City of Fresno will propel companies previously excluded from the digital economy into the modern era,” said Thilani Grubel, vice president of Bitwise Fresno.

Grubel said that during the COVID-19 pandemic of the past three years, “in an economy that went digital almost overnight,” many small and micro business owners have failed to take full advantage of technology and digital tools. “That’s why they had trouble staying afloat in Fresno,” added Grubel.

The center’s team includes a task force led by Fresno residents in underserved and remote neighborhoods who will reach out to small businesses to help them access the knowledge and tools to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.

The program also includes advocacy, mentoring and information workshops.

“We hope this program can provide much-needed support to local businesses that would otherwise have fallen further behind,” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said in a prepared statement. “Many of these companies sell unique or traditional products that represent our region, but don’t have access to the online tools that enable the use of technology in commerce.”

Working with the City of Fresno, Bitwise will provide free support, technology tools and skills to local businesses with the goal of fostering a broad and inclusive economic recovery in the Fresno area.

The Bitwise website states that the Digital Empowerment Center is a time-limited program but does not address the possible end date of the project.

Bitwise’s Digital Empowerment Center aims to reach up to 5,000 small and micro businesses. The goal of the center is to help at least 1,500 business owners by introducing them to information technology tools and improving their digital literacy.

This aims to help owners improve their ability to increase commerce and sales through websites and apps, digital payment processing and digital or web-based record keeping.

Since its founding in Fresno, Bitwise has steadily expanded its model of technology education and support for tech entrepreneurs to three other California cities: Bakersfield, Merced, Oakland; and out of state to Toledo, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; El Paso, Texas; Greeley, Colorado; and Las Cruces, New Mexico.

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