Governance Challenges in Nigerian Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs):A Regulatory Comparative Analysis and Prospects for Reform

Small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to economic development. They are the lifeblood of economies as they constitute the bulk of business organisations. However, particularly in Nigeria, they are plagued with several challenges, including poor governance practices, lack of access to finance and inadequate rescue provisions for financially distressed SMEs. These challenges limit the ability of Nigerian SMEs to thrive and compete in the local and global business environment. However, although SMEs are fraught with challenges in the United Kingdom (UK), they have been comparably successful, with steady growth and contribution to the country’s economic development. Given the critical role that SMEs play in the Nigerian economy, it is imperative that policies are designed to cater for the typical needs of SMEs adequately. Accordingly, this thesis considers the corporate governance, finance and insolvency issues that SMEs face. This thesis adopts a combination of doctrinal and comparative analysis of the UK and Nigeria laws and evaluates the current Nigerian regulatory regime to deal with governance challenges of SMEs. The thesis argues the need to bolster policies that address specific issues facing SMEs in Nigeria. Further, it considers that while policy changes have been made in recent years to ease doing business and boost Nigeria’s global competitiveness, extant legal frameworks need to be brought in line with the modern needs of Nigerian SMEs, to enhance their potential to contribute to the development of the Nigerian economy