Entrepreneurship and Economic Development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is the major source of wealth to every society and hence, the engine that drives innovation, creates new product, job opportunities and services. A country will remain economically disadvantaged if the potentials of entrepreneurship to drive economic growth are not explored. This study assessed Entrepreneurship and Economic Development of SMES in Enugu State, Nigeria. The precise goals were to identify the extent of relationship between Job creation and economic growth of SMEs in Enugu State and to ascertain the degree of relationship that exists between business ownership and financial capability of SMEs in Enugu State. The study adopted a descriptive survey design in order to elicit information from respondents. The population for the study comprises 1,394 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) operating within Enugu State. The sample size of 308 was determined using Krejcie and Morgan method of 1970 and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was employed to test the extent of their relationship at 5% level of significance. The study’s main findings showed that there is positive correlation between SMEs economic growth and the creation of jobs in Enugu State, as well a strong correlation between business ownership and financial capability of SMEs in Enugu State. The study suggests that the Enugu state Government should introduce practical skill acquisition programmes that are designed to foster creativity and encourage entrepreneurs to create more employment opportunities, also that the Government needs to sustain Entrepreneurship by providing soft loans to entrepreneurs to boost their financial capability.