By Emma Elebeke
The minister of information and communication technology, Mrs. Mobola Johnson has underscored the importance of technology in the growth of small and medium scale industries.

The Minister stated this at the just concluded ceremony of the GNBO SMB fair held recently in Lagos.

She said getting businesses online speaks directly to the access to markets challenge that SMEs face in Nigeria.

According to the minster, there is increasing empirical evidence that suggests that simply putting a website on the internet increases the revenue and productivity of SMEs in many fold, with commensurate contributions to job and wealth creation and contribution to GDP.

She commended the global search engine company, Google, EcoBank and MTN for their effort in getting Nigerian businesses online.

“ICTs have increased productivity and reduced the cost of doing business through the deployment of application software that automate processes and reduce hands off. ICTs have increased the mobility and flexibility of businesses and their employees by packing what was done on several large computers to smaller devices such as laptops, note books and smart phones.

ICT’s , through the internet, enable local companies to select and partner with companies in the international business community, going beyond the borders of their natural territories to interact,collaborate and do business with their counterparts across the globe.

“Getting a business on the internet, immediately provides access to markets at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising and marketing can. This is why the Google Getting Nigeria Businesses Online initiative is so important and why the Ministry of Communication Technology is supporting this initiative,” she added.

She expressed the determination of her ministry in in facilitating the build out of a cost effective and ubiquitous ICT infrastructure that will give more Nigerians better and faster access to the internet at affordable prices.

She also expressed the commitment of the ministry to getting as many devices into the hands of Nigerians, to enable them transact business on the internet and create a demand for products and services offered over the internet, noting that getting businesses online is a key part of the agenda and policy direction of the Ministry.

The minster said that the ministry was pleased to note that the Nigeria Internet Registration Association NIRA is promoting a Switch to .ng campaign, ensuring that Nigerian businesses are hosted on local infrastructure with adequate security and support.

“Given the statistics that I have mentioned above and Google’s offer to get more Nigerian businesses online, I would strongly encourage SMEs to wholeheartedly embrace the internet and take that small first step of having a website on the .ng domain. Today Nigeria has an estimated 33 million internet users and we have targets to double this number in the next three to four years.”

Google it will be recalled that google had already registered its presence on the .ng domain name and is by this initiative populating the .ng domain for the benefit of Nigeria.

“Getting your business online immediately gives you access to this market, not to talk of the hundreds of millions of other internet users out there, a very strong value proposition in our opinion,” she added.

She however, enjoined all SMEs to join the online movement that Google is promoting.