Impact of Credit Accessibility and Performance of Smes in Oyo State, Nigeria

This study empirically examined the nexus between credit access and performance of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Oyo State, Nigeria. Also, the study aimed at exploring the relationship between deposit money banks’ credit related charges and SMEs performance in the study area. To accomplish these objectives, an empirical survey was carried out among a sample of 381respondents, out of seven thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven (7987) registered SMEs owners in the state (NBS, 2021). The study utilized a questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. The data collected were coded and analyzed using regression analysis through the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Findings reveled that the relationship between bank credit and SMEs performance is negaive but significant. In the same vein, bank credit related charges negatively but significantly affected SMEs performance in Oyo state within the period captured in this study. This implies that SMEs owners in the state did not enjoy the services of the deposit money banks and their related credit charges, thereby limiting their potentials. It is recommended, among other things that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) should make credit facility available at a lesser cost so as to keep SMEs thriving in the state.