The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has trained and empowered 40 entrepreneurs with Information Communication Technology (ICT) and digital skills in Ebonyi.

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Dr Olawale Fasanya, said this during the closing ceremony of a three-day training and empowerment programme held in Abakaliki on Friday.

The programme was targeted at young entrepreneurs to improve micro small and medium enterprises.

Fasanya, who was represented by Mr Chigozie Asochukwu, SMEDAN Coordinator in Ebonyi, said that the importance of ICT in doing business cannot be over-emphasised.

He said the empowerment programme, which was in collaboration with Dole International Company Ltd., was aimed at giving business owners e-commerce know-how to increase their contributions to the nation’s GDP.

He reiterated the agency’s commitment to business growth, urging the beneficiaries to practice what they had learnt.

“This will go a long way in enhancing productivity, customer engagement and give the entrepreneurs a competitive advantage in doing businesses.

“It will help in digital knowledge and tools needed to grow businesses online as well as enable efficient communication, data management and analysis.

“This is a three-day training and the participants were engaged in three module including Google digital skills, digital market fundamental and business formalisation,” Fasanya said.

Mr Njoku Ozoemena, who spoke on behalf of “City Boys Movement”, said the training became necessary to enhance e-commerce in the country.

Ozoemena hailed the Federal Government for putting up the programme and urged the trainees to utilise the knowledge.

One of the beneficiaries, Kelechi Njoku, lauded SMEDAN for exposing them to modern skills for business and pledged to utilise what she had learnt.

The agency later gave laptops to the trainees to enable them promote their businesses.