New website to support businesses in Fife town

Work has started on the creation of a new multi-vendor platform to support businesses in Cupar, funded by CuparNow, the town’s award-winning Digital Improvement District with support from the Scottish Government’s resilience fund.

The new site – expected to ‘go live’ in June – is designed to provide a new platform, primarily for those businesses who are not trading online but need help in doing so.

CuparNow’s steering group chairwoman, Alison Strachan, said: “Before and throughout the lockdown, CuparNow has shared updates with businesses and customers on a whole range of Covid-19 related issues. This has included support for our business community as well as key information to advise everyone on what’s been available from Cupar during the lockdown.

“As the lockdown began, we became aware of businesses who, having had to close their physical premises, were unable to continue trading in any other way because they had no online trading presence.

“That gave us the idea. The development of the new platform is in the very first stage. We are reaching out to businesses to ask how we can best help – and we are already hearing from those who want to be a part of this much needed and exciting programme.”

When the Covid-19 BIDs resilience fund was announced by Scotland’s Towns Partnership for and on behalf of the Scottish Government, Destination Digital Ltd, the company that delivers CuparNow, made an application to create a multi-vendor platform.

Simon Baldwin, a director at Destination Digital, explained: “We’re aware of the importance ‘digital’ plays in all of our lives. Covid-19 has only heightened the need for businesses to have a better digital presence and, where those have little or no digital footprint, we are able to help.

“Cupar Clicks – our new multi-vendor platform – will provide a foot on the digital ladder for those businesses who most need it.”

Simon concluded: “Crucially, the multi-vendor platform will exist beyond the resilience fund timetable to deliver a legacy project that will deliver benefit long after the lockdown ends – aiding the town’s recovery.

“Together with top-up support from Fife Council’s local community planning budget and further investment from our own company, we can help to bring this project to fruition to make a positive impact.”