Entrepreneurial competencies as drivers of small and medium enterprises’ performance in Osun state, Nigeria

This research assesses the influence of entrepreneurial competencies on SMEs in Osun State, Nigeria, with particular reference to strategic competency, organizational competency and opportunity competency as critical success factors. Self-structured questionnaires were distributed and retrieved from a random sample of 377 SME operators across the state, and the data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show a positive and strong correlation between strategic competencies and SME performance, with a statistical significance of p<0.001, suggesting that efforts made in developing strategic competencies can boost the performance of SMEs. Also, competencies related to orders and organization revealed a clear and statistically significant effect on SME performance (p < 0.001), which underlines the importance of competence in resource management and operative capacity. In addition, a positive relationship between opportunity competencies and SME performance was also evidenced (p < 0.05), stressing the need for firms to discover and exploit opportunities. The present study argues that entrepreneurial competencies are critical determinants of SMEs growth and performance in Osun State. This study suggests that the Government and business developing organizations should mutually define and facilitate the development of training initiatives that would be addressed towards the development and reinforcement of knowledge required in improving the SMEs’ performance. Such initiatives are essential not only for sustaining and growing individual enterprises but also for fostering broader economic development in Osun State.