Abstract

The study analysed the processes involved in business planning, examined the challenges and problems faced by Nigerian entrepreneurs in business planning of Nigeria's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); and how proper planning can promote their businesses. Primary data was used for this study and they were sourced from Small and Medium scale businesses in Ile-Ife through administration of structured questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics such as tables, charts, frequencies, percentages. Findings showed that most entrepreneurs find out the demand of the market more than setting goals and objectives. Also results showed that economic instability and access to source of finance are major challenges facing SME's; and proper planning can increase the productivity and profitability of Small and Medium scale Enterprises in Nigeria. The study concluded that effective planning has a significant effect on the performance of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. It is also recommended that specialised government sponsored institutions should be set up to help small firms by providing planning packages to entrepreneurs tailored to customised needs.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship, finance, Nigeria, planning, SMEs,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Open Access Policy

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Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.