Unravelling the Causes of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ (SMEs’) Failure in the Akure Metropolis and Adjoining Communities of Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Several years of observation has revealed that some enterprises in the Akure Metropolis and the adjoining communities of Ondo State, Nigeria, opened shop but only to fade away into the oblivion some few years thereafter. 75 ex-owners/managers of these defunct businesses were purposively targeted and surveyed to find out the reasons that may be responsible for this observed phenomenon. The primary data collected through the administration of structured questionnaires on the respondent ex-owners/managers were descriptively and inferentially analysed. The results of the chi-square ( 2) non-parametric test of association showed that paucity of resources, stringent government policies, inadequate infrastructure, non-usage of ICT equipment and software/inaccessibility to the internet and lack of R & D efforts and comparative optimism are the factors that contributed to the failure of these SMEs in the study area. Recommendations were made as to how these factors can be ameliorated for a better survival rate of SMEs in the study area.