Nigeria will witness the growth of many small and medium enterprises in the coming years as a result of fast-growing technology in the country. Many businesses will reach vast and diverse markets using electronic and ICT tools to leverage their operations. Mr. Emeka Okafor, Chief Executive Officer of connectnigeria.com, a resource and information search portal with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, made this disclosure recently while announcing Nigeria’s first ever e-business fair to be hosted by the company.

The e-business fair, which is aimed at promoting electronic operations and transactions among businesses via virtual networks, reinforces the cashless policy being implemented by the country’s apex bank.

Mr. Okafor explained that the e-business fair will highlight opportunities for efficiency, growth, and security with regard to doing businesses through electronic means.

The event, which will be held at the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on October 26, 2013, has as its theme, “e-Business and the Growth of Your Enterprise.” This highlights the strategic importance of ICT in the growth and development of businesses in the country.

Chief executives of top corporations, management executives, and SMEs are expected at the event in order to discuss the prospects and challenges of e-business as well as promoting and exhibiting their brands.

Mr. Okafor lauded the efforts of Mallam Sanusi Lamido, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), noting that the introduction of the cashless policy was timely as it will spur economic growth, particularly for SMEs.

Mr. Okafor observed that with the rate at which e-business is being embraced, coupled with the valiant support of the CBN Governor, “new opportunities will be created for businesses in the form of new markets from far and wide places that were previously unreachable before the arrival of the cashless policy.”

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.