Google to hold GNBO small business web fair in Lagos

Google has today announced the next initiative in its Get Nigerian Businesses Online (GNBO) campaign, a 5 day trade fair in Lagos designed to get up to 5,000 small and medium sized enterprises online in the first week of November.

The GNBO initiative, in partnership with Ecobank and MTN, is designed to make it quick, easy and free for businesses to register an online presence and take advantage of Internet opportunities.

Juliet Ehimuan, Google Nigeria country manager said, “This small business web fair is an opportunity for thousands of small businesses to create a free website and learn the basics of building an online business.

We have seen that going online can have a tremendously positive impact on the growth and profitability of small businesses in Nigeria. We are hoping to attract over 5,000 small business owners to learn how to use the Internet to grow their businesses.”

The small business web fair will take place in Oregun, Ikeja Lagos from October 31 to November 4 2011. Additional events in other Nigerian cities will follow over the coming months.

The fair is open to all small and medium sized business owners keen to create a understand how the Internet can benefit their businesses.

GNBO has a target of getting tens of thousands of Nigerian businesses online over the next year, and offers businesses:

• A free, easy-to-build, professional website for desktop and mobile

• A free sub-domain name (e.g, mybusiness.gnbo.com.ng)

• Free hosting for the life of the website

• A free local business listing on Google Places

• With the purchase of a custom domain name, 10 free email accounts to match domain (eg. info@mybusiness.com)

• Free tools, resources and support.

The program also offers access to free support and tools to ease the process of getting online.

For more information and to register, please visit www.gnbo.com.ng