The Ghana Association of Home Based Entrepreneurs (GAHBE) would organise the first ever online trade fair in Ghana from February 25 to March 25 to enable entrepreneurs to expose their products and services to Ghanaians. The fair is to eliminate the logistical issues associated with regular offline trade exhibitions in most fairs. Briefing the press in Accra on Tuesday, Mr Abel Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of GAHBE, said the exposition would in addition, help service providers to know their prospective clients and sell their services and products to them. He noted that internet usage had grown more in Africa than in developed countries and its operations shifted from the streets. Mr Duncan said available statistics indicated that internet usage in Ghana had increased from 30,000 users in 2000 to 1,297,000 in 2010, about 4,223 per cent growth. "The growth in internet usage is based on the fact that it is the most convenient source of answers to questions; the source of solutions to problems. A lot of people are online the world over looking for solutions to problems associated with their businesses," he added. Mr Duncan explained that such a strategy would put the businesses of about 1.3 million people daily on the local scene and 1.9 billion on the global scene. He explained that with the offline expositions, exhibitors often encountered the problem of moving equipment, personnel and goods sometimes incurring high cost to reconstruct pavilions, "but with an online trade exposition like this, you will get the chance to showcase your products and services without any physical movements". Mr Duncan noted that generating business clients and contacts online was quiet different from the offline exposition and explained that it demanded a specific process that had to happen in order to take the millions of clients from any part of the world. He said such exposition would enable service providers to have a maximum exposure and contacts to millions of clients and also build a credible relationship to prepare the grounds for their contacts. "This will herald the beginning of a long profitable growth in your business," he added. Mr Duncan allayed the fears of prospective service providers of any cyber crime and assured them of their safety since measures had been put in place to avert such occurrence. He indicated that the fair fee ranged from GH¢490 to GH¢930 for the month-long period and interested applicants should visit www.ghanatradeexpo.com for registration. Source: GNA