Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine how assistance institutions are contributing to the development of small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, with special reference to Industrial Development Centre (IDC),
Osogbo, Nigeria. Survey research was used in order to carry out the study. Three hundred and forty (340)
respondents from university students, trade union congress and private entrepreneurs in Nigeria were sampled.
Four research questions were generated from the literature review, questionnaire on developing small business
entrepreneurs through assistance institutions, and the responses elicited from respondents were numerically
quantified, tabulated and analyzed using the Likert Scale. The analysis showed that assistance institutions in
Nigeria, especially IDC, have really contributed immensely to the promotion of small and medium enterprises as
well as entrepreneurship development generally. The paper also looked into some problems confronting SMEs in
the developing nations like Nigeria. Based on the findings, it is recommended that efforts should be made to
commercialize the products of IDC so as to meet the demand of the people, and special fund should be set aside
to encourage entrepreneurs who may be financially handicapped after training on SMEs development.

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