Microcredits Antecedents and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Survival During Covid-19; Evidence from Ondo State, Nigeria
MICROCREDITS ANTECEDENTS AND SMES SURVIVAL DURING COVID-19; EVIDENCE FROM ONDO STATE, NIGERIA AWOSUSI, Temitope Charles-Ph.D, ACMA, CIPSMN, CPO, MNIM Department of Banking and Finance, Faculty of Administration and Management Sciences, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria Abstract This study investigated the antecedents of microcredits and SMEs survival during Covid-19 in Ondo State, Nigeria. The study relied on primary data gathered through a structured questionnaire. The population for the study was 1999 SMEs in Ondo State; and the population subjects were 333 SMEs determined via Taro Yamane formula and were purposively selected across the State. The data collected were analysed using mean and one-way-Anova method. The results showed a positive relationship between eligibility criterion (F = 107.165,p < 0.01), savings (F = 30.078,p < 0.01), loan structure (F = 13.422,p < 0.01), and socio-economic characteristics of both SMEs and banks (F = 419.891,p < 0.01) and therefore, concluded that there is a significant relationship between microcredits antecedents and SMEs survival during Covid-19 in Ondo State, Nigeria. This study therefore, recommended that the financial institutions need to be directed by their respective regulatory bodies to relax loan eligibility criterions and other microcredit antecedents in other to accommodate more SMEs for quicker economic recovery. Key words: Small Businesses, Microcredit Antecedents, Business Survival, Covid-19, Financial Institutions