IMPACT ANALYSIS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE (SMEs) IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA(A SURVEY OF SELECTED PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS IN RIVERS STATE)
Abstract
This paper seeks to investigate Small and Medium Enterprises as a veritable tool in Economic Growth and Development. A survey method was used to gather data from 280 SME/Entrepreneurial officers and Managers from Port Harcourt main city where there is high prospect for SMES. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed with several descriptive statistics to identify the perception of the roles of SMEs in Nigeria. The results of the study therefore reveals that the most common constraints hindering small and medium scale business growth in Nigeria are lack of financial base and poor capacity utilization, poor management, corruption, lack of training and expertise, poor infrastructure, poor government policies, and low value for locally produced product and services. Hence, it therefore recommends that Government should as matter of urgency assist prospective entrepreneurs to have access to finance and necessary information relating to business opportunities, modern technology, raw materials, market, plant and machinery which would enable them to reduce their operating cost and be more efficient to meet the market competitions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The definition of small scale enterprise varies with people and countries such that it is better defined based on the features seen by a group of persons within a specific geographical region. The Nigerian context, defines small scale enterprise as any processing, serving or manufacturing industry with an investment in machinery and equipment above N500,000 (Waboi, 1987). According to the centre for management development in a policy proposal to Federal Government in 1982, A small scale enterprise is a manufacturing, processing or service enterprise involved in a factory or production type operation employing up to 50 full time employees, investment in plant machinery are utilized in its operation.
In the past, small business enterprises in Nigeria were characterized as essentially backward and cog in the system of the overall development of the Nigeria economy. As a result of this, there has been a widespread notion that such businesses could be supported only for social reasons, not as a promising opportunity for national development. Obviously, too little attention has been given to the remuneration to be derived from helping small enterprises modernize and grow. This trend was partly due to both the citizens and government and mainly from the very nature of the small businesses which made it difficult for its impact to be felt in the economy.
The embryonic contributions which small business can make are now attracting recognition. This awareness is manifest in the ever increasing number of Nigerians who daily strive to put up their personal ideas and abilities to effective use by starting small business ventures. Evidence around the world indicate that small scale enterprise provide an effective means of stimulating indigenous entrepreneurship, enhancing greater employment opportunities per unit of capital invested and aiding the development of technology. Through their wide dispersal, they provide an effective means of mitigating rural-urban migration and resource utilization
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IMPACT ANALYSIS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE (SMEs) IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA(A SURVEY OF SELECTED PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS IN RIVERS STATE)
