FINANCING OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE BUSINESS IN NIGERIA.
UNIBEN INTEGRATED ENTERPRISE AS A CASE STUDY.
                                    ABSTRACT
       This research work has been undertaken to find out the financing of small and medium scale business in Nigeria (UNIBEN TABLE WATER) as a case study. A further objective was to ascertain  the major sources of financing, finding out the problems confronting small and medium scale business and to provide possible solutions to the problems.
       In order to accomplish this objective questionnaires were designed and administered. This was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (SPSS).
    In conclusion,the result obtained from this research is that the major sources of financing are bank loan and trade credit. It is recommended by the researcher that government should establish more credit institution with the objectives of improving access to finance by the SMEs.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Objective of study
1.4 Research question
1.5 Significance of the study
1.6 Research Hypothesis
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction…...
2.1.2 Contribution of SME in Nigeria Economy
2.1.3  Roles of SMEs
2.2Financing of SMEs
2.2.1  Goals of Finance
2.3  Sources of Financing
2.3.2  Financial Institutions in Nigeria
2.4  Financial Challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria
CHAPTER THREE:RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research design
3.3  Population and Sampling Technique
3.4 Operationalization and measurement of variables
3.5 The research instrument
3.6 Source of data
3.7 Method of data analysis
 CHAPTER FOUR:DATA  PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND PRESENATION
4.1Introduction
4.2 Demographic Profile and Respondents
4.3 Sources of Finance used to finance SMEs
44 Ranking of the sources of Financing in order of preference
4.5 Problems of financing SMEs and possible solutions to the problems of financing the Enterprise
4.6 Discussion of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE:SUMMARY OF FINDINGS,CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
5.1Introduction
5.2Summary of Findings
5.3 Conclusion
5.4Recommendations
5.4.1 Further Studies
Bibliography
Questionnaire
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1     BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Small  and  medium  enterprises  are  believed  to  be  the major device  for  the  development  of  any economy,  because  they  form  the  major part  of  business  activities  in  a  growing  economy  like  Nigeria (Basil, 2005) .  This  is  obvious  in  the  following  ways,  employment  generation,  rural  development, economic  growth  and  industrialization,  better  utilization  of  indigenous  resources (Tafamel, 2009). Consequently, entrepreneurship is fast becoming a household name in Nigeria. This is as a result of the fact that the so called white collar jobs that people crave for are no longer there which make entrepreneurship a growing trend. Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (SMEs)  as  defined  by  the  National  Council of  Industries  refer  to  business  enterprises  whose  total  costs  excluding  land  is  more  than  two  hundred  million  naira  (N 200, 000,000.00) only. In  so  many  seminars  and  workshops  both locally  and  internationally, SMEs has formed the matter of discussion.  In  the  same  vein,  governments  at  diverse  levels (local,  state  and  federal  levels)  have  in so many ways concentrated  on  the Small  and  Medium  Enterprises. Some  governments  have  formulated policies  aimed  at  facilitating  and  strengthening  the  growth  and  development  and performance  of  the  SMEs,  others  had  focused  on  assisting  the  SMEs  to  grow through soft loans and other fiscal incentives (Basil  2005). International  agencies  and  organizations such as (World  Bank,  United  Nations Industrial  Development  Organization  (UNIDO),  International  Finance Corporation  (IFC),  United  Kingdom  Department  For  International  Development (DFID),  European  Investment  Bank  (EIB)  among others are  not  only  promptly  interested  in making  SMEs  robust  and  vigorously  in  developing  countries  but  have  also  heavily invested  in  them.  Locally,  the  several  Non-Governmental  Organisations  such  as Fate  Foundation,  Support  and  Training  Entrepreneurship  Programme  (STEP), the  Nigerian  Investment  Promotion  Commission  (NIPC),  the  Association  of Nigerian  Development  Finance  Institutions  (ANDFI),  as  well  as  individual Development  Finance  Institutions  (DFIs)  have  been  promoting  the  growth  of SMEs  in  Nigeria  through  advocacy  and  capacity-building  initiatives,  and  have continued  to  conduct  for  better  structures  for  operators  in  the  SME  subsection (Basil 2005).
So much  has  been  written  about  performance  in  recent  years as  the  relationship  between  finance  and  performance  of  small and  medium  enterprises  (SMEs)  has  received  significant attention  in  finance  literature.  
Small  and  medium enterprises  (SMEs)  performance  may  be  measured  using financial performance, market performance and share holder returns . This  study examines how the  finance  gap  for SMEs  might be addressed  by means  of  policies to support  other financing initiatives other than commercial  finance  by the conventional financial institutions. The study  seeks to  investigate the awareness and  use of these  various financing institutions  available to SMEs in Nigeria.
1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria have not performed commendably well and has not performed the vital and expected role in the development or economic growth in Nigeria. Some SMEs in Nigeria strive to survive and grow to maturity within their first three to five years of existence. Many factors have been identified contributing to the failure of SMEs. The key factors are insufficient capital, infrastructural inadequacies, irregular power and supply, inadequate market research, lack of proper records, lack of business strategy, lack of proper book keeping, inability to distinguish between revenue and profit, inability to engage or employ the right staffs, inability to acquire the right plant and machinery (Agwu&Emeti, 2014).
1.3    RESEARCH QUESTIONS
    Based on the statement of the problem, the study seeks to answer the following research questions.
What are the major sources of financing  Uniben integrated enterprise?
What are the financial problems confronting the enterprise?
What are the solutions to the problems of financing the enterprise?
1.4     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
    This study aims to ascertain the effect of financing small and medium scale enterprises. The aims are:
To ascertain the major sources of financing Uniben table water enterprise.
To find out the financial problems confronting the enterprise.
To provide possible solutions to the problems of financing the enterprise.
1.5     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will benefit to many stakeholders such as young graduates in establishing their own business. This research study will provide a better understanding about financing a business.
The outcome of this study is expected to provide information that will be useful to the manager of Uniben table water enterprise, related industry, government, policy agency and  individuals (employers, employees, young graduates). This research study will examine the financing of small and medium scale business and an aid to profit maximization and increase in the level of employment.
Lastly, this study would further contribute to the body of knowledge and be a useful source of information including for future research regarding this study.
1.6     SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study will be limited in scope to staffs in Uniben table water   enterprise, Ekehuan  campus, Benin city metropolis.  The subject matter is to investigate the financing of small and medium scale business.
For the purpose of this study,  the funding of small and medium scale business include:
Formal financial institutions such commercial banks, merchant banks etc.
Informal Institutions such as  money lenders, landlords, friends etc.
Personal savings.
Managerial and employees skills.