SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
        The study was based on small-scale enterprise and economic growth in Nigeria. It seeks to find out the roles, challenges and breakthrough of small businesses and their influence on economic growth. A sample of one hundred and fifty (150) companies formed the sample size of the study to ensure adequate observation for statistical testing.
        The analyzed data were sourced with the aid of a questionnaire whose results were derived with the aid of chi-square statistical tool. The result shows that inflation poses as much threat as availability of finance to operations of small-scale enterprises in Nigeria. Also, the impact of this findings on economic growth is minimal which means that small-scale enterprise is yet to attain it’s economic position in Nigeria.
The study therefore recommends that adequate government schemes and programmes should be put in place in order to make liquid cash available to borrowers (entrepreneur) and policies to be made to assuage the high cost of business. It is therefore suggested that further empirical work should be conducted on the subject matter by adopting other models for the empirical research design.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
1.2 Statement of the Problem     -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
1.3 Research Questions    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
1.4 Objectives of the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
1.5 Significance of the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
1.6 Scope of the Study     -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
1.7 Limitation of the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
2.2 Literature Review on Economic Growth      -    -    -    -    
2.2.1 Theoretical Framework (Rostow’s model and criticism)    -    -    -     -
2.2.2 History of Nigeria economy -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -        -
2.2.3 Nigeria Economic Policy Regime    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
2.2.4 Challenges Facing Nigerian Economic Growth            -         -             -        -         -
2.3 Literature Framework on Small-scale Enterprise        -          -            -        -         -
2.3.1 Development of Small-scale Business in Nigeria        -          -          -          -         -
2.3.2 The State of SME Finance in Nigeria         -        -        -         -        -        -        -
2.3.3 Problems of Small-scale Enterprise in Nigeria        -        -        -        -        -        -
2.3.4 Roles of Small Business in Nigeria Economy          -       -        -          -           -
2.4 Small-scale Enterprise Contribution to Economic Growth        -         -          -        -
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
3.2    Research Design    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
3.3    Population of the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Technique    -    -    -    
3.5 Sources of Data Collection    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
3.6 Method of Data Analysis    -    -    -    -    -    -    
3.7 Justification of  the  Method      -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSES OF RESULT
 4.1 Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
4.2 Data Presentation and Analysis        -    -    -    -     -
4.3 Hypothesis Testing        -          -             -          -             -         -            -
4.3. Test of Hypothesis 1`     -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
4.4 Research Results    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
4.5 Discussion of Findings    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
5.2 Summary of Findings    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
5.3 Conclusion    -    -    -    -    -    -    
5.4 Recommendation    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The very endeavor of every living organism for survival is to accentuate their productivity level and attain a certain degree of growth.  Man is not an exception in this belief and, therefore, they constantly breed up ideas, draw up concepts and create establishments to secure and ensure their growth and survival.
The small and medium enterprise (SME) is a concept that is used to describe the various units that has, so far, made an immense and colossal contribution to the wealth and growth of man and his economy.  It was recognized and described by Kilby (1969) as “a quasi sponge for urban employment and a provider of inexpensive consumer goods with little or no export content, serving an important pressure-releasing and welfare-augmenting function”.  Mutula and Brakel (2006), posits that SMEs help to create employment and are often seen as very important for the growth and innovation of dynamic economies.  Following the citations, we can see that small enterprises is a pivot instrument and productive tool for the attainment of an efficient and effective economy in terms of rapid and increasing growth and development.
SME is an awarding concept that has made transforming contribution to many developed and developing countries by improving the welfare of its citizenry which results in a direct growth of the economy.  The small enterprise is a booster of economic growth whose impact has been felt in terms of increasing output, employment generation, better living standard, rural industrialization e.t.c.  As astonishing as this seems, the achievement of a vibrant small business is faced and bedeviled with a bundle of problems and constraint, some of which are controllable and others uncontrollable, which has impinged the growth of many regional economy.  This study is meant to project on us what constitutes a small business, it’s popularity in the world, and it’s determinant of economic growth in a society.
This research is a composition of five sections, designated as chapters, each of which has their unique features and essence. Chapter 1 is the introduction of the research, stating the various problems, objectives, hypotheses, limitation, significance and scope.  Chapter 2 exposes a lucid literature review of the study.  Chapter 3 is about the methodology of the research, the research design and sample methods.  Chapter 4 shows a quick run on the Data Analysis and Presentation.  Chapter 5 gives the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation of the study.
1.2     STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Following the 1970’s to this present period, the SME has been audibly proclaimed to be an important economic instrument in promoting industrialization and economic growth, globally.  Small enterprises have made a gratifying breakthrough, mostly in developing countries by contributing above average of their revenue.  SME, just like most good things, is faced with a host of problems and challenges that poses threats to the optimization.  In this regard, Sangosanya (2010) identified ten key factors and variables that have been a problem and causal of small enterprise failure in Nigeria.  These include; Disasters, Competition, Infrastructure, Taxes, Accounting, Management, Marketing Management, Economy, Planning and Finance.  In Nigeria, poor economic conditions which also implies poor finance and infrastructure, have been identified as the most crucial factors (Ihua, 2009).  This position is supported by other studies which identified financial inadequacy as the major factor responsible for the failure of small business in Nigeria.
The small business enterprises constitutes over 70% of the enterprises in Nigeria and has so far, failed to meet its expectations.  The reason for this is not farfetched and therefore, listed below as follows:
•    Absence of well- structured policy guiding the small businesses.
•    Poor management skill of small business operators or entrepreneurs.
•    Lack of financial support and government incentives.
•    Political instability.
Government attempt to solve this problem by creating specialized industrial base financial institutions such as Bank of Industry (BOI) to provide subsidized credit have shown to be a responsive move, as these institutions were poorly capitalized with very weak linkages with other sectors and stifling bureaucratic bottlenecks.
1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
For a research study to become progressive, it is very important for a researcher to outline a number of specific objectives which he/she would like to base the study on.  Every research needs a sense of direction, which can only occur by stating the objective of the study.  What this research aims to achieve, that is, the objectives is to:
1.    To find out the similarity or disparity of economic growth in the pre-democratic and democratic era of the Nigerian state.  This seeks to observe and analyze the sway of growth in the two different political eras by citing the growth ratio, the challenges, and also the prophylactic/palliative steps taking by the government.
2.    To ascertain the growth and challenges of small enterprises.  Here, we are concerned with the various institutions and government parastatals that are established to realize the SMEs objective in the Nigerian economy.  It also demands to know the roles and challenges of the small businesses in Nigeria.
3.    To find out if there had been a significant economic contribution by the small enterprises in the Nigeria economy.  The “significant economic contribution” is a phrase used in place of some factors such as; Employment, revenue generation, increases economic output, rural development e.t.c.
4.    To find out the reaction of small business owner as regard the challenges faced in the operations of small businesses.
These objectives will become the basis and the research compass that will ensure a safe trip throughout the whole research process.
1.4     STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS
Many drawbacks have been adduced to be the main problem of small-scale enterprise in Nigeria.  In the case of this study, we are concerned with the testing of prominent problems that is perverse to the concerned economy. The hypothesis is given below:
H0:  Inflation is as great a challenge as finance in the operation of small-scale enterprise and growth attainment in Nigeria
H1: Inflation is not as great a challenge as finance in the operation of small-scale enterprise and growth attainment in Nigeria
1.5     THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study is geographical as well as temporal in nature.  It is basically reflected on the Federal republic of Nigeria, taking into cognizance the military and civilian rule.  The years of interest of this research begins from the point of independence, 1960, all through to the democratic period (1999 onward).  Also, the distribution of questionnaire is confined solely to Edo state, reasons being the limitations and constraint that weeds the study.
1.6     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is meant to contribute to the already available materials on this research work, by bringing to the frontier of knowledge, the operations of small businesses under the past and present economic conditions by analyzing the variables involved, measure samples and draw a rational/unbiased conclusion. It will also keep us abreast with the intricacies of SME’s and the significance of their impact to the Nigeria economy.
1.7     LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Certain Limitations were encountered in the course of this study.  Key among these include: Insufficient availability of Data:  This ranks top among the various limitations encountered in this study.  There weren’t enough data with the needed assortment of information needed to support the course of this study.
1.    Time and Funds:  The time frame that is given to conclude this work is very limited, creating a void as a result.  Some required materials were looked away due to the constraint of funds.  The distribution of questionnaires is restricted to Edo state because of the high cost of moving about the country.
2.    Resistance of Respondents:  The researcher was also limited by the reluctance of some respondents to complete the questionnaires promptly and those who even failed to complete them at all. This thus limited the number of respondents involved in the study despite the researcher’s efforts and approaches to them explaining the potential benefits of the study to them.
3.    Materials:  Mass literature on SMEs in scattered form abound but published data on categorizing and ranking of problems facing SMEs in Nigeria as well as the contributions of SMEs to our national economic growth and development proved rather difficult to come by. It was easier for the researcher to access data relating to the performance of SMEs in other parts of the world especially the Asian and Western Countries than those pertaining to SMEs in Nigeria. This factor thus limited the depth of discussions in the area of contributions of SMEs in Nigeria to our economic development and growth.
4.    Sample:  The samples were not randomly selected.  Because of it’s selective nature, the general conclusion drawn from the analysis has a limited reliability and therefore, subjected to further study.