SOURCES OF INVOLUNTARY FINANCIAL EXCLUSION AMONG SMES PERCEPTUAL EVIDENCE FROM KWARA STATE, NIGERIA
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Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lapai Journal of Management Sciences
Abstract
The contribution of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to economic growth and development, job creation and income generation has made it a cynosure worldwide. However most SMEs are financially excluded thereby undermining their potentials in most developing economies of the world. This study investigated the sources of involuntary financial exclusion among MEs in Awara State, Nigeria. Data were drawn from primary sources using questionnaire to elicit responses from sampled SME owners and managers. The study used both descriptive and one sample t-test statistical techniques to analyze the data gathered through the questionnaire. The results revealed that SMES encountered various sources of involuntary financial exclusion which include lack of capital market access, prohibitive loan cost, non-availability of collateral, lack of business financial records, lenders' risk averse behaviour information asymmetry and high interest charged. The study, therefore, recommended that fund providers including financial institutions on their part, should de-emphasize enterprise profile and develop a personalized banking relationship with SMEs and open more micro credit windows, relaxing some of their seemingly stringent formalities specifically for SMEs and making documentation less rigorous. In addition, efforts should be made to integrate the SME subsector into the Nigerian capital market for improved financial inclusion.