ABSTRACT
This study examined the role of entrepreneurial competences on performance of small and medium scale enterprises: a case study of Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State. The objectives of the study set out to analyze the effect of skills competencies of entrepreneurs on the performance of SMEs in Nigeria, find out if entrepreneurial personality competencies of entrepreneurs have any significant relationship with SMEs performance, and examine if the challenges faced by SMEs significantly affect SMEs Performance in Nigeria.
The study employed the survey research design which is the systematic gathering of information from respondents for the purpose of understanding and or predicting some aspect of the behavior of the population of interest. The data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed using the simple percentages, mean and ANOVA via the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 24.0. The findings from the study revealed that entrepreneurial competencies significantly affect the success of SMEs in Nigeria, most of the respondents agreed that entrepreneurs should possess willingness to act on opportunities; entrepreneurs in Nigeria are able to align available resource and prior meeting of customer’s needs; competencies of entrepreneurs have led businesses to more successful.
The study then recommended that SMEs owners and managers should focus on improving entrepreneurship skills in order to improve the performance of small and medium scale enterprises thereby helping in economic growth and unemployment reduction as well as wealth maximization, entrepreneurs should desire entrepreneurship training programs as measure for boosting business knowledge; good business practices, and enhances confidence and sense of empowerment among entrepreneur, there is the need to empower other vocational and skills acquisition centers, by providing them with the necessary materials in entrepreneurship education, in order that they can assist in the development of entrepreneurial skills required by individuals to set up businesses, and government should provide credit facilities to all prospective entrepreneurs with little or no cost of borrowing as well as long gestation period of repayment by the financial institutions in Nigeria.
