Entrepreneurship Development and Growth of Selected Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMES) in Idah Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Entrepreneurship development programme has been identified as a major contributor to small and micro enterprises’ growth and performance. Several studies have been carried out in Nigeria to establish the relationship between entrepreneurship development programme and growth. However, these studies are general and do not distinguish the nature of the relationships. Moreover, there are insufficient evidences on the specific roles played by entrepreneurial development programme. The general objective of the current study was to investigate the influence of entrepreneurship development programme on growth of SMEs in Idah LGA, Kogi State. The specific objectives were; to establish the impact of entrepreneurship training, finance/infrastructure and government policy support on SMEs growth in Idah, Kogi State. The study adopts a descriptive research survey approach to collect quantitative data. The target population for this study was 273 SMEs in Idah LGA, Kogi State.  Simple random sampling technique was used to select 73 respondents. The instrument’s reliability was measured by Cronbach’s Alpha.  Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics incorporated absolute percentages, frequencies, measures of central tendency (mean, mode, median) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation); while inferential statistics was analyzed through correlation and regression analysis to establish the nature and magnitude of the relationships between the variables and tested the hypothesized relationships. The study established positive influence of entrepreneurship training, access to finance, provision of infrastructure and government policy support on SMEs in Idah LGA.  The study concluded that achievement of desired growth requires that government should de-emphasize political affiliation as a condition for accessing government programmes and improve sensitisation of the public on various government entrepreneurial policies and programmes. It was therefore, recommended that training should be organized according to trainees’ needs, which vary based on demographics and specific business activities. It was also recommended that government should fix the daunting problem of epileptic power supply so that entrepreneurs would survive and their businesses sustainably.