Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) owners in Nigeria seeking to exploit new business opportunities converged at 2013 e-Business Fair organised by Connect Nigeria.

Representatives of banking institutions and ICT firms were on hand at the event to educate members of the public on how best to maximise electronic technology to improve their business operations and service delivery.

A keynote address delivered by the CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi titled “Importance of a Cash-less Society to Economic Growth and Development” highlighted the prospects of economic growth as a result of growing technology and its embrace by the business environment.

E-business in Nigeria has been identified as a significant factor that will contribute immensely to the growth of the economy and as such it formed the basis of the interactive session at the forum. SMEs cater to a large chunk of the national economy through provision of services and employment generation and if given leverage via electronic means, it is believed that it will spur economic growth exponentially.

Participants at the 2013 Connect Nigeria e-Business Fair were given the opportunity to develop websites that will promote their businesses electronically by NextDaySite, a business partner to Connect Nigeria with a 50 percent discount.

Mr. Emeka Okafor, Managing Director, Connect Nigeria, observed that new opportunities will be created for businesses in the form of new markets from far and wide places that were previously unreachable as a result of e-business growth in the country.

The services sector in Nigeria, which presently contributes about 34 percent to the economy, is projected to account for 45 to 75 percent of total economic output by 2020, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) identifies Nigeria as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and due to its economic development prospects and growth of internet technology; the CBN is currently implementing a cashless policy with the objective of reducing cash transactions and growing smaller businesses.

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