Business Incubation of Small and Medium Enterprises Performance in Oyo State, Nigeria

O. U. Asikhia; Oluwakemi Ologungba; H. B. Akinlabi; O. G. Makinde

O. U. Asikhia Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
Oluwakemi Ologungba Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
H. B. Akinlabi Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
O. G. Makinde Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of business incubation on performance of SMEs in Oyo State, Nigeria. This study adopted survey research design, 386 SMEs were selected and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Pilot study was carried out to ensure its validity and the reliability, the result range 0.701 to 0.855. Data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that business networks (Î² = -0.214, t = -3.161, p<0.05) had a negative and significant effect on market share. Findings revealed further that financial support (Î² = 0.480, t = 8.930, p<0.05) and technology support (Î² = 0.294, t = 5.692, p<0.05) had positive and significant effect on profitability. Also, the results revealed that financial support (Î² = 0.646, t = 12.256, p<0.05) and technology support (Î² = 0.435, t = 8.598, p<0.05) had positive and significant effect on firm size. Findings also revealed that that financial support (Î² = 1.423, t = 10.238, p<0.05), market expertise (Î² = 0.311, t = 2.484, p<0.05) and technology support (Î² = 1.112, t = 8.331, p<0.05) had positive and significant effect on performance of SMEs in Oyo State. Implications of findings were discussed.

Keywords: Business incubation, Business networks, Financial support, Government policy, Market expertise, Performance, Technology support