ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
We build pathways to opportunity globally.
When a seller joins our marketplace, we support them every step of the way. Success happens together. We don’t compete with our sellers — we win when they do.
Small Business Programs
eBay helps small businesses and traditionally underrepresented entrepreneurs build online storefronts and reach global audiences. Our tools, training and resources help pave the way for a more equitable economy, promoting economic success today and in the future.
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Small Business ProgramsUp & Running Program
We launched our Up & Running program in 2020 to provide small businesses who were hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic with mentoring, funding and support. Over the past three years, we have awarded $1.5 million to 150 small businesses from across the U.S. to fuel their business growth.
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Small Business ProgramseBay Academy
In 2022, we continued to roll out eBay Academy to more of our global markets. The online learning platform offers free, interactive courses to sellers on the best tools and practices they can use to grow their businesses.
Our small business accelerator program empowers sellers with specialized training and mentorship.
2022 Up & Running Grantees
In 2022, we awarded 50 eBay sellers with a $10,000 grant each plus customized small business training.
Drawn from nearly 15,000 submissions, this year’s winners represent 23 U.S. states and multiple categories, including fashion, handbags, electronics, comics, collectibles, sports equipment, motors and more.
I have so many dreams of how I want to grow and succeed and where I want to take my business. Because of this money and this confidence that you’re giving me, I’m only going to skyrocket from here.
All grant recipients are enrolled in an online community for peer-to-peer mentoring, networking and support for all stages of business.
eBay’s Up & Running Grant allowed us to secure more inventory as well as update and develop new products for future sales, and the learning resources are a must for any new sellers on the marketplace.
We foster ecommerce literacy and growth among our sellers through courses designed by eBay experts.
Designed for Sellers
eBay Academy covers a wide range of topics, including how to optimize listings, how to use marketing and promotions to drive sales, how to delegate tasks to employees, how to communicate effectively with buyers, how to ship internationally and how to build a brand. All courses are available for free, and sellers are encouraged to learn at their own pace and join a community of business owners who are improving, growing and scaling together.
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Small Business ProgramsSmall Business Ambassador Network
Our Small Business Ambassador Network (SBAN) is a global advocacy group that empowers sellers to get involved in public policy by sharing their stories with their elected officials. The SBAN network includes eBay sellers in more than 25 countries around the world and members in every U.S. state.
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Small Business ProgramsReports on Small Online Businesses
From our Small Online Business Inclusive Global Trade Report to reports on women-owned small businesses in the U.S. and small businesses across Southeast Asia and Europe, our marketplace offers a pathway for entrepreneurs to reach global shoppers.
Our SBAN community represents the voices of thousands of small businesses around the world.
SBAN Advocacy
Every year, we invite SBAN members to Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium for advocacy meetings with U.S. and European Union legislators.
In May of 2022, select SBAN members joined eBay executives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and discuss how current ecommerce public policy issues are affecting small businesses. Later that year, in October, a group of six SBAN members joined eBay executives in Brussels, Belgium for meetings with key legislators from the European Parliament and Commission to discuss product safety regulations that would have had an effect on the European circular economy. Sellers represented a variety of product categories — from clothing and shoes to computers, tablets and hardware — and were invited to speak about their experiences as eBay small business owners and the impacts of ecommerce legislation currently under consideration.
Supporting our vibrant community of sellers has always been our top priority.
U.S. Women-Owned Small Online Business Export Report
eBay is empowering women entrepreneurs to reach global markets and build successful, long-term businesses, with 97% of U.S. women-owned small businesses on eBay exporting to an average of 15 international markets.
I can really leverage eBay’s global reach to access a worldwide audience. eBay helps alleviate the stress of an international sale and helps increase my reach to foreign countries. As a small business, I am only able to ship globally thanks to my partnership with eBay.
Digital Density
Our technology is leveling the playing field and opening new opportunities for entrepreneurs, helping them reach local, regional and national markets in Europe and around the world.
eBay turned my dream into a thriving business. I love connecting with customers worldwide in search of authentic Italian goods.
Visit Finds For You and You Dream Italy.
Community Impact
Our efforts to create economic opportunity for all extend beyond our marketplace and into the communities in which we live and work. Nonprofits and charities use our platform every day to help fund their vital community services. We are also committed to supporting traditionally underrepresented entrepreneurs in service of creating more vibrant local economies.
eBay for Charity
eBay for Charity is one of the most active giving platforms in ecommerce today, empowering nonprofits to raise funds for their mission-driven work and individuals to support the causes they care most about. We also partner with a range of brands and high-profile individuals to bring one of-a-kind charity auctions to our marketplace.
In 2022, eBay for Charity matched donations made to Nova Ukraine, Save the Children and the American Red Cross, among others. Together with GLIDE, we also hosted the 21st and final Power of One Luncheon with Warren Buffett, raising $19 million for the GLIDE Foundation. Our sellers and buyers raised more than $163 million to support charities via eBay for Charity in 2022, an increase of 12% over the previous year.
The eBay for Charity program has been a game-changer for a small nonprofit like ours. It not only provides a platform to showcase our mission statement, but it also allows us to raise critical funds for life-changing research and support.
Community Impact
eBay Foundation
We believe that when entrepreneurs succeed, they build more resilient and vibrant communities. The eBay Foundation partners with nonprofit organizations that are addressing and removing ongoing systemic barriers to entrepreneurship around the world.
In 2022, we welcomed two independent board members to the eBay Foundation Board for the first time: Jonathan Jayes-Green and Patrice Green. Their outside expertise is the next step in furthering the strategic vision we outlined in 2021, which sharpens our focus on investing in general operations for organizations driving systemic change.
We granted nearly $23 million, including employee matching gifts, to support historically excluded entrepreneurs in 2022. As a result of our strategic grantmaking and Global Give program, which aims to support inclusive entrepreneurship and small businesses around the world, we supported over 60,000 businesses and nonprofits this past year. To date, we have awarded over $100 million to more than 1,800 nonprofits.
2022 Strategic Grantee Partners
We collaborate with nonprofits that accelerate entrepreneurship among Black, Indigenous and people of color in the U.S. and women globally. Through our Global Give program, we distributed $3 million in funding to 30 nonprofits serving their local communities in 2022. Our other partners include:
Accion Opportunity Fund • Ashoka • Black Innovation Alliance • Center for Disaster Philanthropy • Common Future • Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) • Greenlining Institute • Hello Alice • ICA • Kiva • LISC • Native Women Lead • Project Equity • Racial Equity Alliance • Right to Start • Runway • Small Business Majority • Social Impact Exchange • Start Small Think Big
Community Impact
U.K. Social Impact
We have supported over 250 social enterprises through the eBay for Change hub, connecting over 20 million British shoppers with small businesses reinvesting their profits back into their local communities or abroad. We also piloted our first refugee entrepreneurship program with TERN in 2022.
- Second Chance Clothing uses the proceeds from their pre-loved clothing store to fund programs training currently and formerly incarcerated people to run their own eBay stores and break the reoffending cycle.
- Recycle-IT refurbishes donated IT equipment, providing low-cost computers to their local community and work skills to the long-term unemployed — all while reducing the amount of e-waste headed to landfills.
- In 2022, eBay U.K. partnered with Black Girl Fest to expand economic opportunities for over 150 Black women ecommerce founders and to better understand the needs of Black entrepreneurs in the U.K.
Small Business Report
Whether our sellers start businesses to support their families, create new income streams or turn their passions into professions, eBay is here to help. Find out how we’re supporting their success in our inaugural Small Business Report.
Small Business Report
The Home of Small Business
Our 2022 Small Business Report reveals how eBay is a crucial economic driver for many of our sellers.
We surveyed 2,607 sellers in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia to determine how we’re fueling their growth while enabling community and global reach. According to our findings, 85% of respondents say eBay enables economic opportunities for small businesses, and 80% of sellers say eBay has helped them reach new markets around the world.
We’re also helping entrepreneurs to do more of what they love, with 45% of sellers surveyed identifying as “accidental entrepreneurs” — people who never expected to turn their passions and hobbies into a business.
