Introduction
Does the acronym “SMEs” ring a bell???
No? What does it stand for?
Yes? What does it mean to you?
It couldn’t be more explanatory elsewhere…
Let us quickly take a look at SMEs as A catalyst for economic growth and development in Nigeria.
Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are largely viewed as the engine wire of any nation’s economic growth and they are regarded as justifiable means that propel development globally. SMEs are labour intensive; as much as they are capital saving business ventures.
In the words of Abeh, they are capable of making people self-reliant and generating billions of new jobs globally. According to Agwu and Emeti, they are also observed as the key drivers to economic growth and poverty reduction.
SMEs are significant parts that links, strengthen and enhances the development of any country. Their performance and growth in manufacturing, agriculture, services sectors e.t.c, has been considered as the drivers and has contributed to the Nigerian economy.
Sustainable growth and the increase in SMEs performance create competitiveness that opens numerous doors for employment opportunities, tangible and intangible assets (investment) in the environment
Historically, Nigeria’s independence In 1960 marked a turning point in the growth and development of SMEs, which has created much of the emphasis on SMEs as panacea in the reduction of poverty and joblessness or unemployment in Nigeria as a whole.
The adoption of the Economic Reform Programme (ERP) of 1986 indicated a pivotal shift from impressive, capital intensive and large scale industrial projects based on import substitution to small scale industries with enormous potentials for the development of domestic linkages for sustainable economic and industrial development. As such, Small and Medium Enterprises perform very important part of the Nigerian economy.
Though, SMEs have developed over the years in Nigeria in spite of its challenges.
Various studies have acknowledge the importance of SMEs in economic growth, referring to them as “the engine of growth” and as “catalyst for socio-economic transformation of any country”.
In the next episode, we will look at the CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION of SMEs…
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Nice. Gave me a better insight
[…] SMEs journey started with the INTRODUCTION on SMEs: A CAtalyst for Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria. Today we will talk about the […]