A critical look at the necessity of small businesses in Nigeria: A theoretical review

Abstract

The significance of small businesses in any economy can no longer be ignored. As a result, it is necessary to continually seek ways of improving their outcomes. The objective of this paper is to identify major obstacles that hinder the growth of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. The paper benefits from insights from extant literature to identify four key themes namely lack of business management skills; insufficient/non-functional infrastructure; regulatory demands; dissatisfaction with self-management of business; and inability to apply technology. These are discussed giving way to our concluding remarks which come in the form of an inventory of ‘to-do’ items that need to focused on in order to arrest the continual slippery slope state of small businesses in Nigeria. Our thesis is that nations without a vibrant small and medium enterprise ecosystem suffer from its absence.