The effect of credit accessibility on small and medium enterprises growth in Nigeria: The moderating effect of government policy

Abstract

It has been noticed that the bureaucratic procedures of government policies can either hinder or boost entrepreneurship activities which can be measured from their performance and contribution to growth. This study focused on the moderating effect of government policies on the relationship between deposit money banks’ credit accessibility and SMEs’ growth in Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was adopted and data were sourced from companies’ annual report and relevant text books. The result of the multiple regression analysis reveals that government policy had negative and insignificant moderating effect on the relationship between deposit money banks’ internal and external factors of credit accessibility and SMEs growth in Nigeria. Based on this finding, the study recommended that government and stakeholders in the sector should ensure easy accessibility of credit, legislation, institutional restructuring and protection to enhance the performance of SMEs.