Empowering the Uneducated Youths in Nigeria through Small and Meduim Scale Enterprises in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

The general aim of this research work is to examine “the ways of empowering the uneducated youths in Nigeria through Small and Medium Scale Enterprise: A Study of Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State”. The specific objectives of this research work include the following: to identify the number of SME formed by uneducated youths in Ezeagu LGA, to examine the roles of small and medium scale enterprises in youth empowerment in Enugu State. For a successful completion of this research work, the researcher made use of both primary and secondary methods of data collection for information gathering. The population of the study was 1308 while the sample size of 306 was gotten through Taro Yamene formula. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed with simple percentage while the hypotheses stated were tested with chi square. The findings made includes: the roles of small and medium scale enterprises in youth empowerment in Enugu State are entrepreneurship promotion, provision of employment opportunities, mobilization of savings and financial resources for productive enterprise activitiesand equitable growth across regions and between men and women, the contributions of government in SME development are provision of infrastructural development, promotion of small and medium scale enterprises through its policies, provision of capital and loans to small and medium scale business owners andprovision of skill acquisition centers in diverse areas.In conclusion, capital formation has affected the role of small and medium scale enterprises in youth empowerment in Enugu State to a very great extent, the challenges militating against the efforts of small and medium scale enterprises in youth empowerment in Enugu State are financial problems, management problems, infrastructure problems and socio cultural problems. The researcher therefore recommends that government at all levels in Nigeria should be encouraged to float Microfinance institutions in order to enable SMEs access enough funds for their businesses. This will enable the poor in their areas to have access to credit without which our strive for financial inclusion and poverty eradication will not be realized, the central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should hasten up its proposal to introduce financial literacy in school‟s curriculum. The ability of SMEs to keep appropriate and up to date records are what banks require for extension of their credits to individuals and groups.