Lokoja — The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has concluded arrangements to launch electronic registration of micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, the Director General of the agency, Muhammed Nadada Umar, has said.

He said this yesterday in Lokoja at the flag-off of Small Business Opportunities Fair organized for the six North Central states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

He said the programme was designed to build a functional database for developmental interventions, adding that it was also expected to formalize informal businesses as well as to facilitate easy business registration.

He said: "Considering the relevance of the micro, small and medium enterprises sub-sector in the economic growth and development of Nigeria, the event is expected to provide a platform for the development of MSMEs in the zone. "Participants would be exposed to various suppliers of machines/equipment and various sources of finance for businesses and the procedure for accessing them."

The DG said the agency has trained about 108 youths and women in the state on vocational and enterprise skills, saying there are 17.2 million MSMEs in Nigeria responsible for the employment of 32.4 million people who are contributing 46.5 percent of the GDP as at 2010.