CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study Since the 1960s to date, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have been given due recognitions especially in the developed nations for playing very important roles towards fostering accelerated economic growth, development and stability within several economies (Yitzhaki, 2006). They make-up the largest proportion of businesses all over the world and play tremendous roles in employment generation, provision of goods and services, creating a better standard of living, as well as immensely contributing to the gross domestic products (GDPs) of many countries (OECD, 2000).Over the last few decades, the contributions of the SMEs sector, the development of the largest economies in the world have beamed the searchlight on the uniqueness of the SMEs; and this have succeeded in overruling previously held views that SMEs were only ―miniature versions‖ of larger companies (Al-Shaikh 1998; Gaskill et al. 1993).

And although Small and Medium Enterprises have been at the center of the policy debate for quite some time in both developed and developing countries, little analytical work has been undertaken in this area.The dearth information that exists among researchers on Small and Medium Enterprises however provides a sense of how important this sector is for sustainable development in emerging economies (Medina, 2001). For instance, recent studies conducted by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) concur that SMEs are: laborintensive, providing more opportunities for low-skilled workers, correlated with lower income distribution inequality, necessary for agriculture-dependent nations transitioning to an industrial1

and service-oriented economy, excellent sites for innovation and sustainable initiatives due to their inherent flexibility and risk-taking ability (Patricoff & Sunderland, 2005).

In both