Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Sales Growth of Selected Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises in South-West, Nigeria

Abstract

Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in the development of every nation and thus, instrumental in economic growth and development. They help in promoting prosperity by creating new jobs and increasing a region’s economic prosperity. Hence, governments in developing and developed nations see them as a means of employment, innovation and wealth creation. Nevertheless, there are still many small businesses that fail in their first few years of existence, despite all of the positive efforts, contributions, and interventions that have been put in place. This could be due to the fast- changing, increasingly competitive, and dynamism of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Therefore, this study focuses on the role of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in improving sales growth of selected manufacturing small and medium enterprises in South- West, Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design. The population of study consist of 423 owner-managers within the 6 selected ecosystems. The total enumeration method was used because the size of the population is moderate, and data was collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire with a Cronbach alpha value raged from 0.701 to 0.911. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential tools. A response rate of 95.5% was recorded. Multiple and hierarchical regression analysis were used to determine the effect of the variables using Statistical Package for Social Science version 27. The findings revealed entrepreneurial ecosystem has significant effect on waste reduction (Adj. R 2 = 0.289; F (6,397) = 28.342, p < 0.05. The study concluded that entrepreneurial ecosystem has significant effect on waste reduction of selected manufacturing small and medium scale enterprises in South-West Nigeria. The study recommended that management should prioritize developing and operating in a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem to ensure long-term sustainability.