The Rhetoric of Microfinance Bank Services and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in the Gambia

Abstract

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries especially in the Gambia are confronted with several drawbacks and challenges, principal which is lack of access to capital. They have not been able to perform the expected vital role in bringing about economic growth and development. The main aim of most small scale enterprise is to be self reliant but the smallness of capital is making this dream unachievable. The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of microfinance banks provision of finance on SMEs performance. The study made used of primary source of data collection with the aid of a structured questionnaire. The research adopted a descriptive survey research design. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypothesis at 5% level of significance. Analysis of data showed that the correlation coefficients of all the independent variables were less than 0.05. Based on the findings of the study, the study concludes that microfinance finance services have significant impact on SMEs performance. The study holistically recommends that micro finance banks continually maintain, sustain and improve on their provision of finance and funding facilities to SMEs are pivotal instrument of economic growth and development and thus occupies a place of pride in virtually every country or state Keyword: Bank, Microfinance, Performance, Small and Medium Scale Enterprise, Sustainability