Women are the owners of 40 percent of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, while 12 per cent of MSMEs are co-owned between men and women and 48 per cent are owned by men alone.
This is according to a study by Small Firm Diaries published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), titled “Country Data Overview.”
The study was conducted to understand the role and operations of MSMEs in the country as they make up 96 per cent of companies and 86 per cent of total employment in Nigeria.
The report is in contrast with a World Bank report which states that firms with female representation in ownership globally were 32.9 per cent and in Nigeria, the figure was just 16.8 per cent.
The report collated data from 161 firms in Enugu, Kaduna and Lagos states across light manufacturing, agri-processing and services.
Findings from the study showed that the average annual revenue for MSMEs in Nigeria is N2.3 million while the operating margin is N768,000.
It further showed that 62 per cent of MSMEs had a monthly revenue lower than N300,000 as 47 per cent had monthly revenue lower than N200,000.
In the area of banking, the report showed that 97 per cent of MSMEs had a bank account but less than 50 per cent used it regularly and that 47 per cent of MSMEs owned by men took loans to support their business while 45 per cent of female-owned MSMEs used credit facilities.
In adoption of digital financial services (DFS), over 80 per cent of MSMEs claimed to own a debit card and 65 per cent made use of mobile banking services and 56 per cent claimwd to use POS machines but only 5 per cent of MSME owners in Nigeria had used a credit card.
According to the study, the amount of loans taken differed greatly between the genders. While men received an average of N93,000, that for females was N57,000.
When quizzed on problems encountered in using Digital Financial Services (60 per cent) claim the major problem encountered was money arriving late.
About 30 per cent complained that loss of access and missing money was their major problem in using DFS while 63 per cent of respondents in the study reported using DFS because someone was paying them through the medium.
In terms of the adoption of technology for their businesses, more than 50 per cent of MSME owners claim that cost is the major barrier to the use of technology. Around 27 per cent stated the skill required was the barrier.
