AN EVALUATION OF PROBLEMS OF SMALL SCALE BUSINESS IN YOBE STATE AND THEIR EFFECT ON DEVELOPMENT (A STUDY OF SOME SELECTED SMALL ENTERPRISE IN DAMATURU METROPOLITAN)

Small-scale businesses play a crucial role in economic development, job creation, and poverty alleviation in many regions. This study undertakes an evaluation of the problems faced by small-scale businesses in Yobe State and examines their effects on development, with a focus on some selected small enterprises in Damaturu Metropolitan Area. The research is designed to identify key constraints such as inadequate financing, poor infrastructure, weak access to markets, lack of managerial skills, governmental regulatory burdens, and insecurity, and to assess how these factors hinder business growth and local economic development. Using a descriptive survey design, primary data were collected through structured questionnaires and interviews with business owners, employees, and local stakeholders, while secondary data were gathered from relevant literature, government reports, and business records. The findings reveal that the majority of small enterprises in Damaturu encounter persistent challenges including insufficient capital, erratic power supply, and inadequate road infrastructure, limited access to credit, poor business training, and high crime/insecurity. These challenges significantly reduce business productivity, limit expansion potential, increase business failure rates, and thereby slow down local socio-economic development. The study concludes that addressing these problems is critical for harnessing the full potential of small-scale enterprises to contribute to economic growth and community development in Yobe State. Recommended interventions include the provision of microcredit schemes, improvement of infrastructure (power, roads and security), capacity building and managerial training for entrepreneurs, and institutional support from government and private sectors to create an enabling environment for small business growth.