Project Spirit launches to address urgent business needs across Australia

Google, Salesforce, and PwC Australia have created an online community to help provide support in a time of unprecedented business challenges

Google, Salesforce and PwC Australia have today launched Project Spirit, a free online community for businesses of all sizes operating in Australia to connect, share, and leverage each other's assets, skills and capacity to assist in solving the challenges facing the Australian economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered the way Australians live, work and consume products and services. The sudden shift has significantly impacted business. As our economy recovers from the impact of COVID-19, businesses need new ways to operate.

This new online community works by crowdsourcing capabilities and solutions for businesses on a single platform to match needs with the right talent and resources by providing:

• A marketplace where businesses can browse and post specific offers or needs for assets, resources or skills and connect with other businesses 
• A tools and resources hub to help people analyse their business and identify challenges and new opportunities
• A curated library of ‘how to’ stories from business owners who have successfully reinvented the way they work

The Project Spirit community leverages Salesforce​’s #1 CRM to help companies of every size and across any industry, to better connect with other businesses and share resources using the Salesforce Customer 360 platform. Google will provide insights about what people are searching for during COVID-19 and its experience in creating helpful tools for Australian businesses. PwC will bring its power of connecting people, expertise and technology to help businesses solve their most important problems.

For more information, please visit www.projectspirit.com.au.

Comments on the news:

Minister for Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash said Project Spirit is a great initiative, where industry is helping solve critical issues faced by Australia’s small business community as we work towards reopening the Australian economy.

"COVID-19 has had a considerable impact on small businesses across Australia and Project Spirit will be a valuable tool to help them innovate, employ and grow into the future,” she said. “This crisis has seen small businesses adapt to the changing circumstances, reimagine how they operate and to find new ways to connect with their customers. As we look to the next phases of reopening many parts of our society, Project Spirit will assist many small business owners obtain the resources they need to rebuild and get back to business.”

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, the Hon Karen Andrews MP said this new platform could not come at a more valuable time.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted the way our businesses do things but technology has helped them to adapt, keep trading and keep Australians in jobs,” Minister Andrews said. “Our supply chains have also been challenged like never before, and many businesses are now reassessing where they draw their resources from. This platform will connect our businesses, strengthen domestic supply chains and unleash the power of collaboration to reignite our economy out the other side of the pandemic.”

Jennifer Westacott, Business Council Chief Executive said, “We’re proud to support this initiative because it gives big and small businesses a chance to work together, share ideas, solve problems and build a stronger Australia driven by successful enterprise. Business is an ecosystem made up of millions of Australians and whether they are suppliers, workers, customers or shareholders we need each other to thrive. We congratulate the Project Spirit partners Salesforce, PwC and Google for their work to share the tools Australia will need to ensure a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“As Australian businesses get back to work and reopen, they do so in a new world — one where it has never been more important to have access to expertise and resources to create a stronger ‘next normal,'" said Pip Marlow, Salesforce CEO, Australia and New Zealand. “We are proud to have collaborated with Google and PwC on Project Spirit to enable people to get connected, adapt to change, and find new ways to support their business.”

Melanie Silva, Google Australia Managing Director said, “We continue to see some of the best of Aussie resilience and innovation as businesses respond and adapt quickly to entirely new challenges posed by COVID-19. Providing a platform that allows businesses to better use and share resources and expertise is one way we can help them manage through the uncertainty.”

Tom Seymour, PwC Australia CEO said, “We have brought together three major businesses to help kickstart the economy. Project Spirit was created to assist businesses in reimagining how they go to market. The platform is designed to enable productivity opportunities to be realised, new partnerships formed and ideas created. It’s been built for Australian businesses of all shapes and sizes. And, it's free.”

James Pearson, Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO said, “ACCI fully supports and congratulates this initiative established by PwC Australia, Salesforce and Google to create Project Spirit, a free online community for businesses of all sizes operating in Australia. The business community must find new ways to connect, solve problems and reshape together after COVID-19. This initiative with the support of the Chamber movement will help businesses of all shapes and sizes to identify new opportunities to work together, use underutilised assets, reinvent or scale up to meet demand especially as we restart the economy going forward.”

Peter Strong, CEO of the Council of Small Business of Australia, said: “Project Spirit will provide what business people need to reinvent, recover and where possible grow. Any activity that brings businesses together to solve problems and look after employees and customers is essential in this current crisis”.