Appraisal of government funding schemes on the development of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria: a study of Enugu state

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effectiveness of government funding schemes for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe survey method of inquiry was adopted, wherein a structured questionnaire was used to generate data. Using Guilford and Flruchter (1973) formula, a sample size of 276 was derived from a population of 890 registered SMEs. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 20.0 tools.FindingsThe results of the analysis reveal that a significant number of SMEs were aware of government funding schemes, but insignificant number succeeded in accessing the funds. It further reveals that the nature and conditionality of the funds and management capacity of SMEs were major hindrances to the effectiveness of the funding schemes.Originality/valueThe inquiry is completely original and has the potency of influencing policy formulation and implementation in the area of industrial funding.