Contribution of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (smes) on Economic Growth of Business Owners in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria.

This study examined the contribution of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to the economic growth of business owners in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study, and a survey research design was adopted to gather data. The population comprised 1,500 SMEs, while a sample size of 210 was analyzed using Simple Linear Regression as the statistical tool. A structured questionnaire titled “Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and Economic Growth of Business Owners in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria” was used for data collection and was designed by the researcher with the help of the supervisor. Frequency count, mean, and standard deviation were used to test the hypotheses. The results revealed a significant impact of service-based SMEs, food and beverage SMEs, and retail SMEs on economic growth in Calabar South Local Government Area. The findings indicate that SME development significantly contributes to economic growth and development through poverty alleviation and employment generation. The study recommends that government should encourage youths to establish more service-based SMEs across the states to increase internally generated revenue and foster economic growth; banks should provide soft loans with low interest rates to individuals willing to establish food and beverage SMEs; and non-governmental organizations should offer grants to support retail SMEs, thereby motivating more entrepreneurs and enhancing the economic growth of the state.