COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE GROWTH OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Oderinde, A. A. and Ezekiel, Evelyn Ilamode (2020) COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE GROWTH OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA. In: 2nd International Conference, The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, 10-11 November 2020, The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro.

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Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to the activities of businesses and in particular, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) all over the world. This study was carried out to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Southwest Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design where data was collected from 1, 257 registered SMEs in Southwest Nigeria, using online survey. However, only 734 respondents were able to fill and returned the online questionnaire for further analysis which was done using descriptive statistics and regression analysis via SPSS 23. The analysis of the findings revealed that Social Distancing has a negative and statistically significant impact on the growth of SMEs in Southwest Nigeria (= -0.863, p<0.000) while Lockdown policy also has a negative and statistically significant impact on the growth of SMEs in the study area (= -0.131, p<0.001). Based on the findings, the study concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the growth of SMEs in Southwest Nigeria. The study recommended among others that government at all levels should provide some incentives to SMEs in the form of emergency loans to assist them so that they can bounce back from the debilitating effect and negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also recommended that the 14-day quarantine period for those who come from outside the country should be maintained as long as COVID-19 pandemic is still on rampage in the world so as to forestall the resurgence of the virus in the country.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Management
Depositing User: Unnamed user with email [email protected]
Date Deposited: 03 Jun 2021 08:59
Last Modified: 03 Jun 2021 08:59
URI: http://eprints.federalpolyilaro.edu.ng/id/eprint/1461

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