role of small scale medium enterprise in an economy:

Small scale medium enterprise is the backbone of successful economies like USA where over 23 million small business employ more than 50% of the private workforce and generate more than half of the nation's GDP.

EUROPE: small scale medium enterprise are seen largely as essential for European employment. Each year one million new Small scale medium enterprise are set up in the euope.Small scale medium enterprise account for 99.8% of all companies and 65% of business turn over in Europe.

TAIWAN: 70% of jobs are generated by production activities that employ less than 20 workers each.40,000 firms account for 75% of its exports.

It is undoubtedly accepted that small scale business forms the bedrock of any nation's industrial take off especially in a typical developing country like Nigeria, in the following ways:

1. Small scale medium enterprise provides more employment per unit of capital invested because they are generally more labor intensive.

2.Small scale medium enterprise would aid larger industries by manufacturing raw material input and generally act as a catalyst to larger industries thereby generating the desired forward and backward linkages required to build a healthy vibrant industrial base.

3.Small scale medium enterprise encourages indigenous entrepreneurship which will help to develop man-power techniques. small scale medium enterprise will also help develop our non oil-sector especially agro-allied industries which may offset rural migration.

4.Small scale medium enterprise will help form the technological base where such industries would start from small units operating and innovating indigenous technology to suit our particular needs and utilizing local value of resources products, equipments and manpower.

5.Small scale medium enterprise generally source their raw materials locally while a good number of larger units rely on imported raw materials. In this era of scarce foreign exchange, industries that source their raw materials locally stand a better chance of beginning more prosperous.

An overall look at the small scale medium enterprise sector will reveal macro economic facts pointing to developments that would enhance more income parity ,raise capacity utilisation of industries, lower inflation by producing more and creating competion.

Further development of small scale medium enterprise would also increase GDP and will overall raise the standard of living of all Nigerians.