MICROFINANCE BANKS' SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION ACTIVITIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL-SCALE FOOD MANUFACTURING BUSINESSES IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT This study investigated the banks’ social and financial intermediation activities of microfinance banks on the performance of small-scale food manufacturing businesses in Nigeria. It aims to analyze the joint influence of microfinance banks' social and financial intermediation activities on the performance of small-scale food manufacturing businesses in Lagos and Oyo states. The study adopted a descriptive correlation survey design. A purposive sampling method was employed in the selection of seven hundred and forty-seven (747) small-scale food manufacturing businesses within Lagos and Oyo states Nigeria. The findings show that Microfinance Bank's social and financial intermediation activities have joint and relatively significant effects on the performance of small-scale food manufacturing businesses in Oyo and Lagos states, Nigeria. The study concludes that Microfinance banks' joint intermediation functions play a significant role in the performance of small-scale food manufacturing businesses in Lagos and Oyo states Nigeria. The study recommends that federal government agencies, microfinance banks, and non-governmental organizations ought to initiate regular intermediations functions through managerial skills development, credit access, loans, saving schemes, seminars and workshops to improve the small-scale food manufacturing businesses' performance in Lagos and Oyo states, Nigeria