SME and Job Creation
SME and Job Creation
NJOGO, BIBIANA
OLUCHUKWU LECTURER:
DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
CALEB UNIVERSITY
IMOTA
IKORODU
LAGOS
Abstract
1
irrespective of its economic ideology to achieve meaningful and sustainable development,
adequate attention must be given to wide spread of economic activities through
entrepreneurship and small and medium scale enterprise generation.
1. Introduction
In all economies but more in developing and transition economies, there is now a consensus
among state policy makers, development economists as well as international development
partners that small and medium enterprises [SMEs] are a potent driving force for their industrial
growth and indeed, overall economic development. The smallest in this group of enterprises –
microenterprises, are also touted as a veritable tool for attaining one of the eight millennium
development goals of eradicating extreme poverty in the latter. Poverty is caused by inadequate
incomes and incomes result from employment which SMEs are widely known to provide.
Evidences abound that in regions or economies where enterprises have been actively promoted
and encouraged, their poverty rates have declined. This is especially true of Asia whereas in sub-
Saharan Africa, more and more people have sunk deep into poverty. India, for instance,
illustrates a model of bottom-up, demand driven, grass root-led economy depending much on
local entrepreneurial energy and less on foreign direct investment. Her economic growth
projected to be among the fastest in region is expected to be achieved via a young confident
population as it releases its creative entrepreneurial energies. It is thus believed that India
through its young population has great raw potential for high economic growth. Nigeria shares
much in common with India in that they being endowed with a young vibrant population whose
entrepreneurial growth. However, this will only become a reality if the necessary imperatives are
in place to actively and consciously promote youth entrepreneurship using SMEs as the
appropriate vehicles. Youth entrepreneurship has become more imperative now than ever before
considering the high rate of youth unemployment situation in Nigeria. The consequences of
youth unemployment are too grave to be toyed with. Recent experiences in Nigeria with youth
restiveness in the Niger Delta region and youth gang clashes in Lagos and other cities are largely
the bye-product of unemployment. Other consequences of society at large include high rate of
juvenile delinquency, involvement in violent crimes such as armed robbery and political thugery
of the kinds witnessed during the nation’s nascent democratic experience apart from falling easy
prey as couriers for drug traffickers and as victims of human traffickers.
As Turnham [1997] has cautioned the issue of employment should be moved to the top of policy
agenda in order to avoid what Shinder [1997] describes as a “waiting time bob” – the alarming
rate of youth unemployment in development economies. The efficacy of using the promotion of
SMEs to tackle unemployment is well known [Owualah, 1999a]. Furthermore, Owualah and
Obokoh, [2007] are of the opinion that embedding enterprise in educational institutions in the
Niger Delta region of Nigeria could provide a progression from awareness raising, aspirational to
hands-on activities to develop entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills that culminate in a
desire to own and run business after graduation by the region’s youths. Thus enterprise
promotion could be used to change a culture that appears presently to be hostile to the notion of
being an entrepreneur in place of a hostage-taker or gangster.
Definitely, Nigeria’s vision of being counted among the first twenty economies in the world by
2020 cannot be attained in a socio-economic milieu of hunger, poverty and unemployment
among a large segment of its population. This study therefore attempts to review the
contributions of SMEs to employment creation but most importantly to national development
and the rationale for the growing emphasis on them as accelerators of this development. It further
examines the imperatives for the development of SMEs as well as the approaches to tackling
their problems with a view to preparing them to complement the efforts in other sectors towards
the attainment of the Vision 2020.
The primary objective of this study was to establish the impact of small and medium scale
enterprises on employment creation and the role of this on sustainable development of the
Nigerian economy. Other objectives include the following;
1. To determine how social vices could in the Nigerian society could be minimized if not
eradicated using employment generation as a tool.
2. To emphasize on the need for appropriate policy formulation and implementation in the
favour of functioning small and medium scale sub-sector.
3. To extend the focus given to small and medium scale enterprises by the authority concern
so as to occupy rightful position as an agent of economic development.
4. To re-echo the role of enabling environment on sustainable employment generation.
Research questions
In the course of the research the following research questions were answered.
i. Can sustainable employment generation solve socio-economic problem inherent
in Nigeria national economy?
ii. Should the Nigeria populace especially the youth be encouraged to develop and
sustains entrepreneurial spirit?
iii. Can small and medium scale enterprises contribute to economic development of
Nigeria?
iv. Does a relationship exist between employment generation and economic growth
and development?
v. Can the youth contribute to nation building and enhance sustainable
development of the national economy?
Research hypotheses
In the course of this research effort, the hypotheses stated below were tested.
HYPOTHESIS I
H0: Small and medium scale entreprises and sustainable development of the Nigerian
economy are not related.
H1: Small and medium scale entreprises and sustainable development of the Nigerian
economy are related.
HYPOTHESIS II
H0: Promotion of SMEs and improvement in employment generation are not related.
H1: Promotion of SMEs and improvement in employment generation are related.
The impact of small and medium scale enterprises on employment generation in Lagos State was
the jurisdiction of this study with a major focus on Shomolu Local Council Development Area of
Lagos State. Other areas focus by the study were critical examination of the role of SMEs on
national economic development of Nigeria, problems of SMEs in Nigeria, history of SMEs in
Nigeria among others.
Conceptual Framework
Poverty, unemployment, and high crime rates in Nigeria have been of great concerns to the
various governments (federal, state and local) as well as the civil society. The decreasing Human
Development indicators as well as low level of productivity in all sectors of the economy
represent disturbing indices and also contribute to the dismal performance of Nigerian SMEs.
The attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to a large extent is contingent on
how the various tiers of government vigorously pursue the development of SME sub-sector. The
MDGs e.g. like halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, reducing maternal
and infant mortality and increasing level of literacy by 2015 may become a mirage without a
virile SME sub-sector. According to Fagge (2004), both the World Bank and the International
Labour Organization observed the role and trend of unemployment in Nigeria. Unemployment
gap is widened by the industrial collapse and poor performance of agricultural sector over the
years. The discovery of oil has led to the dwindling revenue of the government from agricultural
sector and an increase in revenue from the oil sector. The statistics by National Poverty
Eradications Programme (NAPEP) shows that national unemployment figures in Nigeria is 70%.
Out of 1,110,000 graduates produces by about 149 tertiary institutions in the 1996/1997
academic year, only 100,000 representing 10% were able to secure formal jobs while the rest
were left at the mercy of the labour market (Fagge 2004).
Development experts have identified corruption and neglect of the strategic role of small and
medium enterprises as some factors responsible for underdevelopment. Given the vital
contributions which SMEs play in developed and developing economies and considering the on-
going reforms by the government of Nigeria, which are primarily aimed at creating wealth,
reducing poverty, generating employment, re-orientating values, and stimulating real economic
growth, it becomes compelling for the SME sub-sector to be revitalized toward playing its
expected roles. The SMEs remain a veritable vehicle for the transformation of Nigerian
economy. For the governments to realize the lofty objectives of the development programmes,
the SME sub-sector has to be thoroughly revamped and focused. This is one of the ways that the
government can be sure of realizing the objectives of the well-intended economic reforms and
move the economy forward for the benefits of all stakeholders, particularly the impoverished
masses.
Before 1992, there were varied definition of SSEs adopted by different constitutions including
Central Bank of Nigeria, NBCI, NERFUND centre for industrial research and development
(CIRD), National of Industry, the centre for Management and development (CMD) etc. In 1992,
the National Council of Industry (NCI) streamed the definition of industrial enterprises for
recurrent review every four years. There was a revised edition in 1996. In July 2001, the
National Council of Industries at its 13th meeting in Markurdi, Benue State (NCI – 13) made the
following revisions.
Micro/Cottage Industry
That is an industry with total capital employed of not than N15 million working capital but
excluding cost of land and or a labour size of not more than 10 workers.
Small – Scale Industry
An industry with total Capital employed of over N1.5 million but not more than N50 million,
including working capital but excluding cost of land, and or labour size of 11 – 100 workers.
Medium – Scale Industry
An industry with a total capital employed of over N50 million but not more than N200 million,
including working capital but excluding cost of land, and or a labour size of 101 – 300 workers.
Large – Scale Industry
An industry with a total capital employed of over N200 million, including working capital but
excluding cost of land or a labour size of over 300 workers. Comparatively, most advanced
countries seemed to have agreed on a maximum limit of 500 employees as a small Firm.
But the shift in the business economy from self-employment to large firm employment changed
how our economy functions and even governments attitude toward business. The ups and downs
of business cycles are far more hazardous to people dependent upon large firm payrolls. And
this has led to a greater dependence upon workers protection such as social security, Medicare,
and mandatory worker’s compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, and other measures
designed to combat economic dimensions and unemployment. These changes have also made it
necessary for the small scale firm entrepreneurs to have a better grounding in management and
the ability to anticipate and deal with economic and business cycles when necessary.
The Phase of Accelerated Growth usually lasts three to four years. During this period, the
founder or a management expert handles management. At this point, a corporate organization is
developed thereby leading to separation of ownership from management.
The Stable Growth phase typically has duration of two to five years. During this period,
management expertise and the corporate organization are divided into numerous departments and
inflow of stable, long-term venture capital from corporate investors begins to appear.
Finally, the Phase of Maturity that may start after several years of beginning in the business
adopts the same type of management as stable growth phase but major difference being that
sources of funding may become more diverse.
Job Creation: It is often argued that SMEs are important for employment growth. This
conviction has not been supported by empirical evidence, while job creation rates are
substantially higher for small firms, so are gross destruction rates, SMEs exhibit high birth rates
and high death rates and many small firms fail to grow (Davis, Haltiwagner, Schuh, 1993).
Efficiency: Most studies of developing countries show that the smallest firms are least efficient
and there is some evidence that both small and large firms are relatively inefficient compared to
medium-scale firms (Little, Mazumdar and Page, 1987).
It is often argued that SMEs are more innovative than larger firms probably due to the adoption
of ‘niche strategies’, such as high product quality, flexibility and responsibility to customer
needs as means of competing with large-scale businesses (Snodgrass and Biggs 1996). However,
ACS, Morck and Young (1999) found that these innovations often take time, and large firms
may have more resources to adopt and implement them.
Wages and Benefits: Although, research evidence suggests that larger employers offer better
jobs in terms of working conditions than SMEs. (David, Haltiwanger and Schuh, 1993). There is
some evidence that this disparity narrows as industrialization proceeds (Snodgrass and Biggs,
1996).
Social, Political and Equity Justifications: SMEs are often said to contribute to a more equal
distribution of income or wealth. However, SMEs owners and workers are likely to be the
poorest of the poor, so that SME promotion may not be the most effective poverty alleviation
instrument. In reality, the desire of governments to promote SMEs is often based on social and
political considerations rather than economic grounds.
The argument for SME promotion on grounds of job creation process of SMEs or of their greater
efficiency and growth is supported by conflicting empirical evidence, making it difficult to be
justified. Rather, developing country governments should be interested in SMEs because they
account or large share of firms and employment in other words, because ‘they are there’ (Little
Mazumdar and Page, 1987).
In a similar study carried out by Okpetu (2002) in which key success factor in SMEs were
researched since success is a measure of effectiveness of the sector and the impact of the sector
on the overall development of participating firms and by extension national economy at large.
In that study, the researcher adopted a cross sectional survey of small and medium enterprises in
Lagos. The primary data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire and
complemented with content analysis of some published reports on small and medium enterprises.
A sample of 200 entrepreneurs selected across different industries was selected for the study.
The choice of industries and selection of samples were based on accidental sampling method.
Participating respondents were operators of small and medium enterprises who volunteered to
respond to our questionnaire. The sampling method was adopted due to lack of comprehensive
information on the population of small and medium enterprises operating in Lagos.
The main instrument used was a self-administered questionnaire divided into two main sections.
Section A contained questions on success factors. Respondents were provided with following
options: Critically important coded 5 points, very important coded 4 points, important coded 3
points, somewhat important coded 2 points, and least important coded.
Section B of the questionnaire requested for the background information of the entrepreneurs and
the organization.To empirically answer the research questions, descriptive statistics such as
mean, mode median and standard deviation were employed in analyzing the responses of
participating respondents. Out of the 2000 firms and entrepreneurs that participated usable and
complete data were obtained from 195. The findings of this study reveal that considerable
percentage of Nigerian working population (that id 20-49 years) is increasing seeking for self-
employment. This age group constitutes responsible men who have attended higher institutions.
The survey of these entrepreneurs also indicate that technology proper planning, financial
survival of Nigerian small and medium enterprises.
In the contemporary business environment technology is a vital factor that must be reckoned
with. Lack of technology will result from absence of research and inability to adopt modern
techniques, thereby resulting into low productivity. Hence, there is no gainsaying in the fact
technology is one of the challenges in the growth of Nigerian small and medium enterprises.
The significance of finance in small and medium enterprises development is well established and
generally accepted, successive governments over the years have implemented various financing
arrangements at the micro level to assist small and medium entrepreneurs.
Nigerian is blessed with vast natural, human and material resources, which implies that she has
great potential for emergence of a vibrant industrial sector, particularly in small and medium
enterprises.
The role of small and medium enterprises in the technological and industrial development of any
nation justifies the need for greater attention to this sector. The foundation of growth in
developed countries of the world is usually attributed to the contribution of the small and
medium enterprises.
In Nigeria, the successive administrations have adopted various policy measures aimed at
stimulating, sustaining and supporting entrepreneurship, development in small and medium
enterprises. The success of these measures will be dependent on the presence of some key factors
such as technology, financial control, proper planning and productivity of labour force. All these
factors attest to the fact that creation of enabling environment and effective management will
assist in the growth and development of small and medium enterprises.
Relating the study conducted by Lawal (2011) to the one conducted by Okpetu (2002) it
therefore follows that for SMEs irrespective of the nature of their business ideology, key success
factors such as proper planning, good financial control, technology, sustainable improved
employee productivity are germane to success of the organizations whether such SMEs are with
international presence or only domesticated in Nigeria.
Sample survey research design was adopted in the course of the study since it is relatively
impossible to study all the elements that made up the unemployed population of youths residing
in Shomolu area of Lagos state.
Decision Rule
If the calculated value is less than the critical value, accept H0 and reject H1.
If the calculated value is greater than the critical value, accept H1 and reject H0.
.
The researcher personally visited the one hundred and fifty (150) small and medium enterprises
precisely in the Moshalashi Street, Akeju Street, Idera Street among others in the Shomolu Area
of Lagos State to administer the questionnaire and also made contact with selected SME business
owners in the area to schedule an interview adopted for this study. This was achieved within a
period of two weeks. The questionnaires were handed over to the respondents who happened to
be owners of small and medium enterprises in Shomolu area of Lagos State.
2 Unreturned 30 20%
The rest of the chapter provides the result of socio economic questions posed to the respondents
and discussion of data analysis of responses from the one hundred and twenty (120) responses
that were properly filled, completed and retrieved through the research instruments adopted.
Sex
Male 1 72 60
Female 2 48 40
Table 2 above shows that seventy-two (72) respondents representing 60% of the sample size
were males while forty-eight (48) respondents representing 40% of the sample size were
TABLE 3 AGE
Age
Below 25Years 1 23 19
25-35Years 2 77 64
36-45Years 3 20 17
Above 45 Years 4 - -
were of the age group below 25 years, 77 respondents representing 64% of the sample size were
of the age group 25-34 years, twenty (20) respondents representing 17% of the sample size were
of the age group 36-45years while option above 45 years attracted no respondent.
Marital Status
Single 1 70 58
Married 2 50 42
Divorced/Separated 3 - -
Widow/Widower 4 - -
Table 4 above shows that seventy (70) respondents representing 58% of the sample size were
singles, fifty (50) respondents representing 42% of the sample size were married while other
Educational Background
WAEC/NECO 1 24 20
ND/NCE 2 34 28
HND/B.Sc 3 42 36
MBA/M.Sc 4 10 8
Professional 5 10 8
Table 5 above shows that twenty-four (24) respondents representing 20% of the sample size
were secondary school leavers, thirty-four (34) respondents representing 28% of the sample size
were ND/NCE holders, fourty-two (42) respondents representing 36% of the sample size were
HND/B.Sc holders, ten (10) respondents representing 8% of the sample size were MBA/M.Sc
holders while another ten (10) respondents representing 8% of the sample size were
Years in Service
5-10 Years 2 16 13
11-15Years 3 6 5
16-20Years 4 3 2
Above 20 Years 5 - -
Table 6 above shows that ninety-seven (97) respondents representing 81% of the sample size
have been on the job for less than five years, sixteen (16) respondents representing 13% of the
sample size have been on the job for a period of 5-10 years, six (6) respondents representing 5%
of the sample size have been on the job for a period of 11-15 years, two (3) respondent
representing 2% of the sample size has been on the job for a period of 16-20 years while option
20 years and above attracted no respondent. Thus, majority of the respondents have been on the
Determining the impact of small and medium enterprises on employment generation, the
responses were determined by requesting the respondents to rate the output of their responses on
a scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree coded 5 to 1 respectively. The results of
Part B:
Analyses of Responses to Research Questions
TABLE.7Accelerated economic growth and development is a sine qua non for improving the quality of life.
Description Code Frequency Percentage
Strongly Agree 5 36 30
Agree 4 36 30
Undecided 3 22 18
Disagree 2 13 11
Strongly Disagree 1 13 11
Table 7 above shows that 36 respondents representing 30% of the sample strongly agreed, 36
respondents representing 30% of the sample agreed, 22 respondents representing 18% of the
sample undecided, 13 respondents representing 11% of the sample while another 13 respondents
representing 11% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, a majority of the
TABLE.8 The economy depends on its working population for economic growth and development.
Strongly Agree 5 42 35
Agree 4 43 36
Undecided 3 10 8
Disagree 2 12 10
Strongly Disagree 1 13 11
20
Table 8 above shows that 42 respondents representing 35% of the sample strongly agreed, 43
12 respondents representing 10% of the sample size disagreed while 13 respondents representing
11% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the respondent
TABLE.9 Small and medium scale enterprises contribute to global economic growth and development.
Strongly Agree 5 29 24
Agree 4 30 25
Undecided 3 55 46
Disagree 2 3 2
Strongly Disagree 1 4 3
Table 9 above shows that 29 respondents representing 24% of the sample strongly agreed, 30
representing 3% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the
Strongly Agree 5 25 21
Agree 4 27 23
Undecided 3 23 19
Disagree 2 22 18
Strongly Disagree 1 23 19
Table 10 above shows that 25 respondents representing 21% of the sample strongly agreed, 27
undecided, 22 respondents representing 18% of the sample size disagreed while 23 respondents
representing 19% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, a majority of the
Strongly Agree 5 44 37
Agree 4 41 34
Undecided 3 25 21
Disagree 2 5 4
Strongly Disagree 1 5 4
Table 11 above shows that 44 respondents representing 37% of the sample strongly agreed, 41
representing 4% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the
TABLE.12: The youth should be encouraged to develop and nurture entrepreneurial spirit.
Description Code Frequency Percentage
Strongly Agree 5 42 35
Agree 4 43 36
Undecided 3 10 8
Disagree 2 12 10
Strongly Disagree 1 13 11
22
Source: Field Survey, 2012
Table 12 above shows that 42 respondents representing 35% of the sample strongly agreed, 43
12 respondents representing 10% of the sample size disagreed while 13 respondents representing
11% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the respondents
Strongly Agree 5 47 39
Agree 4 22 18
Undecided 3 14 12
Disagree 2 29 24
Strongly Disagree 1 8 7
Table 13 above shows that 47 respondents representing 39% of the sample strongly agreed, with
the statement, 22 respondents representing 18% agreed, 14 respondents representing 12% of the
sample undecided, 29 respondents representing 24% of the sample disagreed while 8 respondents
representing 7% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, a majority of the
Strongly Agree 5 42 35
Agree 4 43 36
Undecided 3 10 8
Disagree 2 12 10
Strongly Disagree 1 13 11
Total 120 100
Table 14 above shows that 42 respondents representing 35% of the sample strongly agreed, 43
12 respondents representing 10% of the sample size disagreed while 13 respondents representing
11% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the respondents
TABLE.15 Giving of right focus to the youth welfare prevent crime and other social vices in our society.
Description Code Frequency Percentage
Strongly Agree 5 40 33
Agree 4 36 30
Undecided 3 14 12
Disagree 2 16 13
Strongly Disagree 1 14 12
Table 15 above shows that 40 respondents representing 33% of the sample strongly agreed, 36
respondents representing 30% of the sample size agreed, 14 respondents representing 12%
of the sample strongly disagreed.Thus, a majority of the respondent strongly agreed with the
Strongly Agree 5 26 22
Agree 4 24 20
Undecided 3 23 19
Disagree 2 22 18
Strongly Disagree 1 25 20
Table 16 above shows that 26 respondents representing 22% of the sample strongly agreed, 24
respondents representing 18% disagreed while 25 respondents representing 20% of the sample
size strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus a majority of respondent agreed with the
statement.
Strongly Agree 5 42 35
Agree 4 43 36
Undecided 3 10 8
Disagree 2 12 10
Strongly Disagree 1 13 11
Table 17 above shows that 42 respondents representing 35% of the sample strongly agreed, 43
12 respondents representing 10% of the sample size disagreed while 13 respondents representing
11% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the respondents
Strongly Agree 5 36 30
Agree 4 32 27
Undecided 3 32 27
Disagree 2 15 12
Strongly Disagree 1 5 4
Table 18 above shows that 36 respondents representing 30% of the sample strongly agreed, 32
the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, a majority of the respondents strongly
Strongly Agree 5 29 24
Agree 4 30 25
Undecided 3 54 46
Disagree 2 3 2
Strongly Disagree 1 4 3
Table 19 above shows that 29 respondents representing 24% of the sample strongly agreed, 30
representing 3% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the
Strongly Agree 5 25 21
Agree 4 28 23
Undecided 3 23 19
Disagree 2 22 18
Strongly Disagree 1 23 19
Table 20 above shows that 25 respondents representing 21% of the sample strongly agreed, 28
undecided, 22 respondents representing 18% of the sample size disagreed while 23 respondents
representing 19% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, a majority of the
Table 21Small and medium scale enterprises and sustainable development of the Nigerian economy are
related
Description Code Frequency Percentage
Strongly Agree 5 43 36
Agree 4 36 30
Undecided 3 23 19
Disagree 2 14 12
Strongly Disagree 1 4 3
Table 21 above shows that 43 respondents representing 36% of the sample strongly agreed, 36
respondents representing 12% disagreed while 4 respondents representing 3% of the sample size
strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus a majority of respondent agreed with the statement.
Table 22. The youth occupies a pivotal role in national economic development.
Agree 4 43 36
Undecided 3 10 8
Disagree 2 12 10
Strongly Disagree 1 13 11
Table 18 above shows that 42 respondents representing 35% of the sample strongly agreed, 43
12 respondents representing 10% of the sample size disagreed while 13 respondents representing
11% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement. Thus, majority of the respondents
This subsection of this research report restated the hypothesis formulated and tested it so as to
determine the reliability and dependability of the thesis and this was done using chi-square
formula.
Part C:
Testing of Hypotheses
Hypothesis I
H0: Small and medium scale enterprises and sustainable development of the Nigerian
economy are not related.
H1: Small and medium scale enterprises and sustainable development of the Nigerian
economy are related.
Contingency Table
43 24 19 361.0000 15.0416
36 24 12 144.0000 6.0000
23 24 -1 1.0000 0.0416
χ2 calculated = 41.9164
χ 2 tab value at 5% level of significance
α = 5% = 0.05
d.f. = (r-1) (c-1)
where r = row total C = column total
r = 5, c = 2
df = (5-1) (2-1)
df = 4x1 = 4
χ 2 tab at 5% level of significance df 4 = 9.49
INTERPRETATION
From the analysis above, χ2 calculated value is 41.9164 while χ 2 tabulated values is 9.49. This
shows that χ2 calculated of 41.9164 is greater than χ 2 tabulated of 9.45 i.e χ2 calculated (41.9164)
> χ 2 tabulated of 9.49.
Therefore, we accept H1 which states that small and medium scale enterprises and sustainable
development of the Nigerian economy are related.
Hypothesis II
H0: Promotion of SMEs and improvement in employment generation are not
related. H1: Promotion of SMEs and improvement in employment generation are
related.
To test this hypothesis, statement used for table 18 was used.
Promotion of SMEs and improvement in employment generation are related.
Contingency Table
36 24 12 144.0000 6.0416
32 24 8 64.0000 2.6666
32 24 8 64.0000 2.6666
15 24 -9 81.0000 3.3750
χ2 calculated = 29.7915
χ 2 tab value at 5% level of significance
α = 5% = 0.05
d.f. = (r-1) (c-1)
where r = row total C = column total
r = 5, c = 2
df = (5-1) (2-1)
df = 4x1 = 4
χ 2 tab at 5% level of significance df 4 = 9.49
INTERPRETATION
From the analysis above, χ2 calculated value is 29.7915 while χ 2 tabulated values is 9.49. This
shows that χ2 calculated of 29.7915 is greater than χ 2 tabulated of 9.45 i.e χ2 calculated (29.7915)
> χ 2 tabulated of 9.49.
Therefore, we accept H1 which states that promotion of SMEs and improvement in employment
generation are related.
For an economy to live up to expectation in the committee of nation’s development wise, such
economy must achieve accelerated economic growth and development which is sine qua non for
improving quality of life. The economy depends on its working population for economic growth
and development in which the youths constitute greatest percentage and this further establishes
the reason why the youth should be gainfully employed. The youth should be encouraged to
develop and nurture entrepreneurial spirit since entrepreneurship reduces poverty and improve
standard of living.
It was also discovered that giving of right focus to the youth welfare through job creation
reduces social vices in an economy. The youth can enhance sustainable development of the
Nigerian economy
Lastly, the hypotheses tested reveals that small and medium scale entreprises and sustainable
development of the Nigerian economy are related, just as promotion of SMEs and improvement
in employment generation are related.
Conclusions
Following the finding stated above, the researcher therefore concluded that for a nation
irrespective of its economic ideology to achieve meaningful and sustainable development,
adequate attention must be given to wide spread of economic activities through entrepreneurship
and small and medium scale enterprise generation. The youth as a major contributor to all round
economic growth and development must be given due attention and their yearning for job
security must be primary and paramount since they process greater capability to move the
economy forward. This will be easily achieved by encouraging them to be entrepreneurial and
focus.
Recommendations
Based on the conclusions stated above, the researcher therefore recommended that for the present
and future governance to achieve impressive development, more job should be created especially
for the youths in the form of small and medium scale enterprises through policy formulation and
implementation since SMEs and economic development are related.
The government should encourage the youth to cultivate and nurture entrepreneurial spirit as a
way of achieving gainful employment. The government should review and expand its skill
acquisition programme by creating additional skill acquisition centers in addition to the already
existing ones in order to boost skill acquisition and entrepreneurial capabilities of the youths. In
addition, proper monitoring and funding of such programme should be ex-rayed in order to
identify lope-holes therein so as to enhance the achievement of its objectives.
Lastly, attaining the status of the economic development of the western world, Nigeria as an
economy should make herself SME driven economy that is adequately supported by the needed
fund. In addition, the government should encourage the creation of more micro finance banks
that are well supported and regulated to render necessary financial supports.
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