Small, Medium Scale Enterprises and its Impact in the Nigeria Economy Development Within 1998 To 2023

Abstract This paper examines the Gross Domestic Products, annual total financial value of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs), the annual employment rate as well as the annual infrastructural development in Nigeria as documented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) within 1998 to 2023 to assess the Impact of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) on the growth and development of the economy of Nigeria. To also highlight the various ways, the government and other stakeholders can help improve SMEs in order for it to be competitive, through the improvement of the country’s GDP, employment rate, exchange rate, foreign trade etc. The main objective of the study is to uncover the impact of SMEs in the economic grwth and development in Nigeria from 1998 to 2023. Quantitative research technique method was used on the secondary data collection from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) annual reports, Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports within the time series of 1998 to 2023 and the regression analysis was applied to analyse the secondary data collected during the period of this study. It was discovered from the study that intervention of the government such as implementation of the right policies and intervention and provision of essential and adequate infrastructural facilities. Therefore, the key recommendations after due reviews and consideration include improving access to finance through the specialized government schemes, implementation of adequate policies and interventions that will enhance growth of SMEs, encouraging innovation through the adoption of technological facilities and enhancing government policies to create a more favorable and conducive business environment.