Capital Account Liberalisation: has it improved SMEs situation in Nigeria?

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a longitudinal study of the impact of economic liberalisation on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) development in Nigeria. Specifically, it examines the impact of Capital Account Liberalisation (CAL) on SMEs access to finance, and if the policy improved the problem of access to finance by SMEs following the liberalisation of capital account in Nigeria. The policy was expected to encourage the inflow of investible funds into Nigeria for SMEs access to funds. However, the results of the policy are far from the objectives in terms of SMEs access to finance and survival in Nigeria. On the basis of the findings of this report, it appears that CAL partly contributed to the failures of most manufacturing SMEs contrary to the policy objective of improved SMEs access to finance.