THE PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA ECONOMY

Abstract

In Nigeria the recognition of the economic significance of small-scale enterprises is only a recent phenomenon. Hitherto, the adopted industrialization strategy, which originated in the colonial era, encouraged the undistracted use of imported raw materials to produce import substitutes. To the extent that this strategy was biased towards large-scale production activities, it invariably undermined the growth and development of indigenous industries, most of which are small medium scale in size. The major criteria used in the definition of small-scale enterprises include member of employees, sales value, relative size, initial capital outlay, financial strength, compassion ownership and type of industry. This study examines the subjects through comparative definitions of small/medium and large enterprises and states the purposes of small-scale enterprises in the task of building an economically viable in Nigeria. The myriad of problems faced by small and medium enterprise are discussed extensively.To successfully cover this particular aspect of the project, both primary and secondary sources of acquiring the needed data are employed and the gathered data are sorted, organized, and arranged under different heading for a proper analyzing using a simple percentile method.