Surviving the years of infancy: longevity among small firms in Nigeria, 1971-1997

It is widely believed that a common pattern exists in the closure of small firms in Africa. Typically, these firms are reported to die in their first three years of life. Like any generalisation, this view fails to take into account probable variations across segments of the small business sector. A few recent reports on small firms in Nigeria and in southern Africa draw attention to this limitation. In this paper, we draw on the experience of privately incorporated firms in Nigeria to report a closure pattern that diverges significantly from that of the sector generally. Our finding that only a small fraction of the closures occurred in the infancy of the firms has implication for research and policy on small businesses. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.