Access to Finance and Performance of Services Sector MSMEs in Nigeria

This study examines the subjective and objective effect of access to finance on the performance and growth of MSMEs in the services sector in Nigeria. The study used a cross-sectional dataset from the 2014 World Bank Enterprise Surveys database. The study employed the Ordinary Least Squares regression approach to investigate the effect of access to finance on the ability to create employment by MSMEs in the services sector in Nigeria. This study found that MSMEs face credit constraints as the majority (77.56%) of the sampled firms indicated access to finance as the main obstacle, although in different degrees (subjective effect). Also, the study found a negative and significant relationship between access to finance constraint and employment growths (objective effect). In light of these findings, the study recommends that the government should encourage financial institutions to create cheaper and more accessible credit for MSMEs, through favourable tax regimes or incentives in order to reduce the unemployment in the country. In addition, other policies that encourage a reduction in lending interest rate (such as a credit guarantee scheme) should be put in place so as to enable MSMEs to access more credit at a cheaper interest rate.

JEL Classifications: J23, L25, M13.