International Journal of Small and Medium Enterprises

SME FINANCING OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN BANGLADESH: POLICY DIRECTIONS BASED ON SME LOAN BORROWERS’ VIEW

2023-01-22T17:46:50+00:00

The importance of bank financing for the growth and development of Small and Medium Enterprises is extensively documented in the literature. SME finance is essential not only to starting an SME business but also to enhance the growth of the business. Unfortunately, SME businessmen are facing difficulties in getting and repaying all kinds of financing in Bangladesh. Moreover, because of financing problems, SMEs cannot enter the manufacturing industry spite many potentialities. This research aims to identify key financing obstacles encountered by Bangladeshi SMEs and recommend policy guidelines to tackle those obstacles. Necessary data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 200 SME loan borrowers of 10 commercial banks by using a simple random sampling technique. Descriptive analysis was performed to analyze collected data. The findings indicate some constraints related to SME financing, such as higher interest rates, complex documentation, etc. SME borrowers face various obstacles before and after the sanction of SME loans. Although some initiatives related to SME financing have been adopted recently, most are not yet implemented. Moreover, SMEs' existing financing policies are inadequate, poorly designed, and inconsistent.

JEL Classification Codes: A19, B10, B25, C10, C53.

DOES GENDER MATTER’S ON THE DECISION MAKING FOR THE TYPE OF DEBT FINANCING OF THE MANUFACTURING SMEs IN BANGLADESH?

2023-02-09T14:58:43+00:00

Fostering the appropriate Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) financing is one of the most crucial ways of facilitating their success as well as the progress of a developing country. For that purpose, it is necessary to understand the financing behavior of the decision makers in the SMEs. Despite the indication of the importance of owner-manager gender in making debt financing decision, the literature is scant and inconclusive. Hence, this paper intends to investigate whether the gender of manager or owner is associated with more debt financing for fixed asset financing or for working capital financing. This paper analyses the World Bank Enterprise Survey data of 756 small and medium manufacturing firms of Bangladesh. In addition to using descriptive statistics, this study employs both parametric and nonparametric tests of hypotheses, including the Mann-Whitney U test. The findings suggest that female ownership, but not the management, is associated with more debt financing for working capital needs. However, no conclusive evidence of the role of gender on debt financing for fixed assets is found. The results support the theoretical evidence related to the interplay between gender and small firm capital and can arguably be explained as a result of females’ better access to short term microfinance, and gender-based screening errors of the lenders. Extension of research is suggested to uncover the reasons behind more debt financing by female owners for working capital needs. The findings imply that the policy makers may optimize the financial system so that female owners’ debt financing demand is conveniently met. In addition, lending organizations may attempt to target female-owned manufacturing SMEs of Bangladesh as their potential working capital loan customers. This paper is among the first studies in the developing, or at least in Bangladesh context to provide evidence on the association between gender of owner vs manager and the nature of debt financing of manufacturing SMEs.

JEL Classification Codes: G320, D250, J160, M130.

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SMEs FINANCING AND ENTREPRENEURS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN SYLHET

2023-02-28T15:32:36+00:00

By serving and gratifying clients, the hospitality business has a significant potential to stimulate economic growth and to increase shareholder wealth. The study's primary goal is to examine how SME financing has affected Bangladesh's growing hotel sector. Growth in services and jobs are important SMHE development determinants. The theoretical model displays how the researcher has conceptualized the relationships between the study's variables. We employed factor analysis, test of hypothesis, and descriptive analysis to conduct quantitative analysis for this paper using SPSS. In this work, both primary and secondary data have been utilized. Primary data collection will be done in the Sylhet districts (Sadar) utilizing standardized questionnaires that will concentrate on the borrower's perspective of SME funding. Secondary data was gathered from academic journals, theoretical evaluations of SME foundations, papers, Bangladesh Bank magazine reviews, and BBS reports. A survey will be undertaken to obtain feedback from the owners or managers of various hotels, restaurants, and managed food services in the districts of Sylhet (Sadar). The study found a strong correlation between organizational behavior measures and SME finance. This study also poses the possibility that the Sylhet region's hotel sector could improve its performance through smart SME financing. The study also suggested potential future uses of SME finance in hospitality firms in the Sylhet region. The framework includes the impact of SME financing on revenue, job growth, and their ‘customers.

JEL Classification Codes: F62, F65, G21, G23.

DETERMINANTS OF NATURAL RESOURCES BASED MICROENTERPRISES PERFORMANCE IN INDIA’S WESTERN HIMALAYAN REGION: A NAÏVE BAYES CLASSIFIER ANALYSIS

2023-06-24T16:14:17+00:00

The natural resources-based Microenterprises are the major part of the economy of the western Himalayan region of Uttara hand, India, as the region is predominantly covered with reserved forests. The present study evaluates the performance of Microenterprises and the factors affecting it in the region using the primary data enumerated from 110 microenterprises sampled under four major categories of microenterprises, viz, agro and allied, Animal and allied, handicrafts and handlooms, and miscellaneous. The Naïve Bayes classifier approach has been applied to evaluate the performances (Loss-making, breakeven, profit-making, or high-profit making) of these microenterprises based on their performance determining factors such as ease of raw material availability, level of training received, technological advancement, and the extent of market knowledge, and also on the type of ownership and the employee's number. The Naïve Bayes classification accuracy on the training dataset was 100%, while accuracy on the test dataset ranged from 93% to 100%. The results revealed that agro-based microenterprises have a greater probability (0.67) of making a profit/high profit, while animal product-based microenterprises have a high probability of running into losses. A higher level of Market Knowledge contributes to a high probability (0.89) of making high profits. The higher level of technology and training provides greater chances/probability (0.72, 0.72) of making high profits. Self-help groups (SHGs) have shown a better probability of making profits. The study suggests promoting SHGs in the region, wider dissemination of the market knowledge (marketing strategy), and leveling up the training/technology of the microenterprise.

JEL Classification Codes: O13, L26.

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES, DESIGN INNOVATION, AND OPERATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM TEXTILE ENTERPRISES IN GHANA

2023-07-12T18:13:10+00:00

Many developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, struggle with design innovation as a result of a lack of infrastructure, skilled labour, and financial constraint, hindering their ability to compete in the global economy. The study investigates the effect of technological capabilities, design innovation, and operations on the performance of Small and Medium Textile Enterprises (SMTEs) in Ghana filling the knowledge gap and contributing to economic development in the region. A quantitative approach was employed, and data were obtained from 80 SMTEs using a self-administered questionnaire. The results show that there is a significant correlation between technological capabilities and the performance of SMTEs, indicating that current technologies are making textile companies more productive and efficient, resulting in improved performance. The study also found that technological capabilities positively influence design innovation practices, which, in turn, positively relate to the performance of the enterprise. Moreover, there is a positive relationship between the technological capabilities and operations of the enterprises. The findings of the study are consistent with previous research and suggest that enterprises that invest in the appropriate technology can improve their design innovation, operations, and overall performance. The study recommends that SMTEs in Ghana must invest in technological capabilities that are suitable for their business needs to improve their operations, design innovation, and overall performance. Additionally, policymakers should provide adequate support to SMTEs to enhance their technological capabilities, design innovation, and operations through funding, training, and infrastructure development.

JEL Classification Codes: O32, E22, D02, L25, L67.