THE IMPACT OF MICROFINANCE BANK ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL SCALE BUSINESSES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The recent economic situations in the country have proven to the government beyond doubt, that the large-scale enterprises cannot perform the major roles of economic development. This is true for Nigeria being a developing country. Hence, priority has been placed on the small-scale Businesses in Nigeria. Government steps in achieving this include ban on importation of goods and commodities, encouragement of local industries, establishment of the small and medium enterprise Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS). In 1989, the World Bank projected an increasing size of small and indigenous sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The small-scale Businesses in Nigeria have a reputation as the 'Seed bed' for economic development. The impact of Micro Finance Banks on small scale business cannot be over emphasized. The world today is inhabited by an estimated 6.6 billion people, 2.5 billion of which are believed to be living on less than US $ 2 (N300) a day. This group constitutes much of World's unbanked population. They have no access to financial services with which to create wealth. This is because they lack necessary collateral often requested by conventional banking institutions for credit facilities. This goes further to impoverish and worsen national and even global poverty levels. (Anyanwu C. M. (2004).