EV workplace benefits: Octopus Electric Vehicles is rolling its UK salary-sacrifice EV leasing model into Germany, promising savings of around 40% versus conventional leasing and bundling insurance, servicing, charging credits and maintenance—aimed at both employees and small and medium businesses. E-invoicing push in France: With mandatory e-invoicing due in September, about 30% of French firms still haven’t registered, even though free sign-up options exist via approved platforms that can route invoice and VAT data to tax authorities. Cybersecurity for SMEs: Researchers say some Zbtlink routers sold worldwide ship with a factory-installed remote-access backdoor, raising concerns for universities and enterprises if small businesses use the same gear. AI for bookkeeping: Tyms, an AI-native accounting platform, lets business owners connect their real books to assistants like Claude and ChatGPT to ask questions about invoices, expenses and cash flow—without exporting spreadsheets. SME export pressure (South Africa): A business group argues SMMEs face “double jeopardy” from costly, unreliable logistics and payment terms abroad plus high domestic costs and tight finance, warning export-led growth won’t work without bankable routes and cheaper inputs. Digital trade compliance (Europe link): The EXA4MIND project highlights European tools for AI-enabled data workflows for research and SMEs, supporting data management and analysis across HPC and cloud.