CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

1.0   INTRODUCTION

Small businesses are now increasing being perceived as an important contributor to economic growth and development. They make significant contribution towards job creation and the provision of low cost goods and services

Over the last decades, there have been a number of changes in the way global business is conducted which the changes include the liberalization of trade, expansion of regional economic integrations and advances in information communications. While these changes have taken place, the importance of small businesses still remains an integral component of the overall economic activities (Reddy 2007).

Epileptic power supply is a situation where by there are poor power outages in an area over a given period of time which at times it may take the form of low voltage, when there is supply at all. This can arise from either the generating or transmitting end,  but is ultimately felt at the utilizing end and any nation that is always confronted with an irregular supply of electricity is always retarded in development and risk to investors.

Small business owners and manufacturers have rightly complained that any interruption in electricity supply is bound to have negative effect on their output. Residential users of electricity have complained that power outages can affect their electrical /electronic appliances small and medium scale business users of electricity have admitted that interrupted electricity is the bane of the smooth running of their businesses. Therefore, there is no human’s of our socio-economic life that is not affected by the electricity supply.

1.1   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Small businesses performance in Nigeria is threatened by the situation of poor power supply in Nigeria. The situation is very serious due to the high cost of depending on fuel and operating the business with generators and poor plants instead of using the funds to buy more goods and services to grow their businesses. Constant power outages is rampant in Nigeria, many companies are relocating from Nigeria to other countries due to the situation.  The consequence of this situation is job displacement and high level of poverty and unemployment and in addition, many potential entrepreneurs are discouraged from starting up small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to the unfavourable condition.

Government policies on the promotion of small scale business is not effective due to the poor electricity supply in Nigeria. It is in view of these problems that this study is set to examine epileptic power supply and small business performance in Nigeria.

1.2   OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The following are the objectives of the study

a).    To examine the problems of epileptic power supply in Nigeria.

b).    To evaluate the causes of epileptic power supply in Nigeria.

c).    To examine the impact of epileptic power supply on small business performance in Nigeria.

d).    To identify possible solutions to the problem of poor power supply in Nigeria.

1.3   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions were formulated based on the objectives of the study?

(a)    What are the problem of epileptic power supply in Nigeria?

(b)    What are the causes of epileptic power supply in Nigeria?

(c)    What are the impact of epileptic power supply on small business performance in Nigeria?

(d)    What are the possible solutions to the problem of epileptic power supply in Nigeria?

1.4   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study will be useful to the state government and the federal government on the importance of adequate power supply and it will help to identify the impact of epileptic power supply in Nigeria and proffer recommendation on solving the problem. It will also serve as a reference material to other scholars/researchers and individuals seeking for information on the subject.

1.5   SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study covers epileptic power supply and small business performance in Nigeria, using selected small and medium scale enterprises in Uyo as case study.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In the course of carrying out the research some challenges were countered by the researcher that stood as limitation to the study and they include; the researcher could not visit many libraries to gather relevant information due to high cost of transportations.

Limited time given for the completion of the study and financial challenges due to the rising cost of textbooks, internet browsing, etc.

1.6   DEFINITION OF TERMS

Epileptic Power Supply– A situation of irregular supply of electricity.

Power – Electricity made available for use.

Business – A company or other organization that buys and sells goods, makes products, or provides services.

Performance – Working effectiveness; The way in which somebody does a job, judged by its effectiveness.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)– Is a business segment term that is used differently in different countries, and sometimes differently in different industries in the same country – It means, small and medium sized Enterprises in full, are companies whose turnover or head count falls below certain limits.