AN ONLINE initiative is stretching across Europe as the county links up with EU partners to show how digital business can be done.

The CREATE business support app, launched recently in the county, is pitched as a “quick, easy and fun” way for businesses to grasp their digital potential.

CREATE (Connecting Rural Enterprise for A Trans-national Economy) is an innovative project to encourage rural small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to adopt online and digital technology.

Through Herefordshire Council, the county joins a partnership with five like-minded European regions, from France, the UK, Ireland and Belgium.

Councillor Graham Powell, the council’s broadband champion, said the CREATE project complements Fastershire’s rollout of next generation access (NGA) broadband in rural Herefordshire to stimulate the local economy and keep business on a par with larger or more centrally located competitors.

Figures show that, at the height of the recent recession, SMEs with expertise in ICT were 29% more likely to grow than those with only a basic use.

Highly digitised SMEs tend to grow at a faster rate overall.

Cllr Powell said CREATE was a “great way” for businesses to understand not only their current level of technological expertise but also the opportunities that are available to them, free of charge, through the CREATE project itself.

The App complements initiatives already underway in the county to support SMEs including a mobile training centre and the Passport2Fastershire scheme as superfast broad rolls out.

The CREATE project looks to overcome the barriers to growth and competitiveness experienced by SMEs in predominantly rural areas through the application of faster broadband and advanced ICT.

CREATE project has been awarded European funding through the "Interreg Ivb" North West Europe programme to develop and pilot best practice techniques which encourage rural SMEs to take up and fully exploit the potential of faster broadband.

CREATE can also help SMEs identify opportunities to work with other small rural businesses across North West Europe. to share best practice and learning.

Business can assess their digital potential from the downloading the CREATE app for free from http://www.create-nwe.eu or find it on the App Store or Google Play.