Digital Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurial Resilience, Psychological Capital and the Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Jigawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the effect of digital financial literacy, entrepreneurial resilience, and psychological capital on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Jigawa State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 400 owners and managers of SMEs, drawn from a population of 13,912 registered enterprises using the Taro Yamane (1967) formula and a simple random sampling technique. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with the aid of Smart PLS 4 software. The
finding of the study shows that Digital financial literacy, entrepreneurial resilience and psychological capital each had a positive and statistically significant effect on SME performance, with psychological capital emerging as the strongest predictor, followed by
entrepreneurial resilience and digital financial literacy. The study concludes that the psychological and behavioral capabilities of entrepreneurs are at least as consequential as their digital financial skills in shaping business performance in Jigawa State, and recommends that government agencies, financial institutions, and SME development organizations design integrated capacity-building programmes that combine digital financial training with resilience-building and psychological capital development for SME owners.