Mia san online: Digitization for Munich's inner-city businesses

“Mia san online” is an innovative digitalization project initiated by the City of Munich to support micro and small businesses in the city centre with digitalization. Together with the digital consultancy asioso and the ReDI School of Digital Integration, the project helped the participating companies to future-proof their business processes and reach new target groups.

Challenge

Digitalization poses major challenges for many small and medium-sized companies, especially in the retail sector. From digital merchandise management and setting up online stores to the use of social media and AI, comprehensive technical skills are required that are often not available internally. The aim is to make it easier for Munich entrepreneurs to access digital tools and strategies and to provide them with sustainable support.

Solution

The “Mia san online” project offered selected entrepreneurs in Munich's city center intensive support from former graduates of the ReDI School of Digital Integration. These project teams worked closely with the companies to develop tailored solutions for the digital transformation, from the digitalization of merchandise management to the optimization of customer acquisition via modern channels such as social media.

Benefits

The “Mia san online” project has accompanied almost 50 Munich-based small businesses on their path to digitalization through innovative training approaches and individual digital solutions. The specific functions and benefits offered to the participating companies include:

• Increase digital presence and visibility: Companies have been supported to build professional websites and online stores, allowing them to showcase their products and services online and reach a wider audience.
• Efficient goods management: Support in the development of concepts for digital tools to manage inventories and goods flows in order to create transparency and save time.
• Automation of processes: Knowledge transfer and concept development for automated systems, for example for bookings, orders or customer communication, to reduce workload and highlight potential errors.
• Individual training courses: In online and face-to-face seminars, the entrepreneurs were trained in the use of digital technologies in order to use them independently and operate their solutions in the long term.
• Continuous support from mentors: Alumni teams from the ReDI School worked closely with the companies as mentors to meet individual needs and support the implementation of digital strategies.

About the customer

The City of Munich is actively committed to promoting digitalization and supporting micro and small businesses in the city centre. With initiatives such as the “Mia san online” project, Munich is pursuing the goal of accompanying local companies into the digital future and strengthening their competitiveness. Supported by the “Inner Cities Revitalize” special fund of the Bavarian urban development program and municipal funds, the city developed this program, which primarily aimed to empower entrepreneurs digitally in the long term. Munich worked closely with partners such as asioso GmbH and the ReDI School of Digital Integration to provide tailored solutions for the specific challenges faced by companies and to maintain the city center as a vibrant business location.