The Role of Small-scale Businesses in Reducing Unemployment in Niger State (Study of Some Selected Small-scale Businesses in Minna Metropolis)
Chapter One
Abstract
This study investigated the role of small-scale businesses in reducing unemployment in Niger state (study of some selected small-scale businesses in the Minna metropolis). The study looked into three areas of interest: the impact of small business performance on unemployment in the Minna metropolis; the influence of socioeconomic factors on small business performance in the Minna metropolis; and the obstacles that small business performance in the Minna metropolis faces. This study used a cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive research design. A 5-point Linkert scale was used in the construction of a questionnaire. To properly analyze the research participants’ information and data, was done. The data collected from the research participants through the administered questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS23.  Correlation and ANOVA estimates were computed. These were done to make proper statistical inferences for the acceptance or rejection of the stated hypotheses in this study. The Findings in this study showed that there is a 0.943 correlation coefficient between unemployment and small business performance in Minna, with a significant value estimate of 0.016. This suggests that the two variables have a very strong positive association. In other words, with all other variables held constant, there is a very strong and significant positive correlation between these two variables. In other words, while controlling for other factors, small-scale enterprises in Minna account for around 94% of the city’s high unemployment rate. According to an estimate of 0.983 with a significant value estimate of 0.003, the performance of small-scale firms and the socioeconomic traits of business owners in Minna are significantly correlated. This indicates, with a 95% confidence level, that there is a very strong and substantial positive correlation between the two variables. So, with all other factors being equal, the socioeconomic characteristics of business owners in Minna account for around 98% of the probability of survival for small-scale firms. A significant value estimate of 0.001 was used to calculate the correlation coefficient between the performance of small enterprises and the obstacles standing in their way. This suggests that at the 5% level of significance, there is a very strong positive connection between these two factors. So, there is a 98% chance that the obstacles to their existence in Minna will determine whether small firms succeed there. A significant value estimate of 0.010 was used to calculate the correlation between unemployment and the difficulties small businesses face in Minna, which was assessed to be 0.958. This suggests that, when other factors are held constant, there is a very high positive and significant correlation between these two variables at a 5% level of significance. This suggests that the obstacles to the survival of small firms in Minna account for nearly 96% of the city’s unemployment rate. It was concluded that there is a significant impact of the performance of small-scale businesses on unemployment, socio-economic characteristics of small-scale business operators, and the significant challenges militating against the performance of small-scale businesses in Niger State.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
In recent years, Nigeria has faced a severe problem with unemployment. The majority of people in Nigeria are affected by the sickness of unemployment, which affects every area of daily life (Hanse, 2018). The number of recent graduates entering the national labour market grows yearly in a geometric fashion, and they are searching for non-existent white-collar positions. To this end, it was simply deduced that up to 80% of both youthful and physically fit youths in Nigeria are continually wandering the country’s streets in search of both new and better professions (Hanse, 2018). Â But, the reality is that unemployment in Nigeria is still something that should be in the past. This is because, according to, Nigeria is a nation that has been generously endowed with both natural and people resources. Despite all of these advantages, her states of economic development are far from ideal (Barret, 2016).
The history of small businesses has evolved into some of the most contentious narratives in global economic expansion (Solomon et al., 2019). Little firms in an economy are thought to hinder economic growth by luring away scarce resources from their larger competitors. The contributions of small businesses around the world also include preserving communities, generating jobs, and discovering innovations. In the United States, small businesses employed over sixty million people in 2010, however many of these companies have since shut down, with just fifty percent making it through the first five years (Denger, 2018). But, many younger organizations—many of which lack long-term sustainability—are built by tiny enterprises (Akinlabi & Olajide, 2020). With almost 14 million employees, hotels are the second largest private employer in the United States. Nonetheless, the risk of an early closure associated with the industry exists in smaller businesses (Frazer, 2018).
In the USA, small businesses create 80% of the new jobs, with 99.7% of those companies employing fewer than 500 people (Link & Scott, 2020). When a small business closes for any reason, jobs are lost and the community loses a tax-paying institution. However, the researchers have found that small enterprises frequently fail before they have been in operation for five years. On the contribution of these elements, which may lead to the closure, there is little information currently accessible. As a result, more businesses would thrive and survive if data were present throughout the first four years (Akinlabi & Olajide, 2020). Â A study conducted by Welsh et al., (2021) has revealed that women in Nigeria are highly educated and gain strong support for being an entrepreneur from their family and friends. Women also rate themselves as successful individuals and have excellent innovative skills.
A small-scale enterprise is a company that isn’t very big in terms of its size, operation, financial commitment, and employees. The majority of small businesses are owned by a single entrepreneur. A company that is independently owned and controlled and that is not the market leader in its industry is sometimes referred to as a small-scale enterprise. In general, we should be aware that a tiny business must operate on a modest scale, have few employees, and invest less in cash (Ola, 2017).
Statement of the Research Problem
Even though some of the students could need up to a year or two to finish their programmes, business organisations used to care for students from higher schools back in the 1960s and late 1970s. This may be due to the small number of higher institutions and the low enrollment in the school, which was established to test the populace’s lack of knowledge of the immense benefits of education. The days of new graduates landing rich employment right away after graduation are long gone. All current efforts in society to reduce this threat, made by the public and private sectors alike, have failed. Â It is against this background that this work tends to proffer solutions under the following provision(Ola, 2017). The problem of unemployment in Nigeria society is because the factors of its existence and ways are linked to multiple variables. Some of these variables are connected to the social and cultural factors in society, while others are linked to the educational system and its output, and third groups are connected to the economic system. The phenomenon of a high unemployment rate despite the increased numbers of SMEs raises questions yet to be answered bearing in mind the prominence theories accorded to the role of SMEs in employment creation.
Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to investigate the role of small-scale businesses in reducing unemployment in Niger state (study of some selected small-scale businesses in the Minna metropolis). Specific objectives of this study include to:
- Identify the impact of the performance of small-scale businesses on unemployment in the Minna metropolis.
- Investigate the effect of socio-economic characteristics on the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna metropolis.
- To examine the challenges militating against the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna metropolis.
Research Questions
- What is the impact of the performance of small-scale businesses on unemployment in the Minna metropolis?
- What is the Effect of socio-economic characteristics on the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna metropolis?
- What are the challenges militating against the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna metropolis?
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested in this study:
Null Hypotheses(H0):
- There is no significant impact of the performance of small-scale businesses on unemployment in the Minna Metropolis.
- There are no significant socio-economic characteristics affecting the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna Metropolis.
- There are no significant challenges militating against the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna Metropolis.
Alternative Hypotheses(H1):
- There is a significant impact of the performance of small-scale businesses on unemployment in the Minna Metropolis.
- There are significant socio-economic characteristics affecting the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna Metropolis.
- There is a significant challenge militating against the performance of small-scale businesses in the Minna Metropolis.
Significance
The significance of small-scale economic business ventures to the Nigerian national economy, which apply straightforward productivity approaches and are characterised by high labour intensity, is what gives the study its significance. By doing this, they increase the availability of jobs that employ a substantial section of the unemployed workforce and lower the rising demand for government employment. Also, it has been stated that the proposed solutions to the issues with small-scale business projects are significant benefits for the national economy. Small enterprises offer job chances for job seekers and help lower Nigeria’s unemployment statistics. Small-scale business owners can follow the conclusions and suggestions given in this study to run their operations successfully and efficiently. This study will help the Nigerian government establish business policies that are compatible with the country’s small and medium-sized businesses.
Scope and Limitations of the Study
This study focused on the role of small-scale businesses in reducing unemployment in Niger state (study of some selected small-scale businesses in the Minna metropolis). The study also examined how the performance of small enterprises in the Minna metropolis in Nigeria’s Niger State is impacted by unemployment, socioeconomic factors, and obstacles they must overcome. There were several limitations the researcher had to operate within when analysing this research project. The amount of ground the researcher could cover in the period allotted for this study’s completion. Also, the lack of relevant material both online and offline had a substantial impact on the quantity and quality of our study. So, it was a setback that some of the key data/information needed to finish this study was not provided by the sampled research participants.
Operational Definition of Terms
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits.
- Unemployment: people above a specified age (usually 15)[2] not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the reference period.
- Socioeconomic status (SES): a combined economic and sociological measure of a person’s employment experience, their family’s financial access to resources, and their standing in society.
- Â Economic And Social Development: the process by which a country, region, local community, or an individual’s economic well-being and quality of life are enhanced following certain aims and objectives.
- Business: the activity of creating, purchasing, and reselling commodities to support oneself or earn money (such as goods and services). Moreover, it includes “any activity or enterprise undertaken for profit.
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