Roles of Investment Analysts on SMES Venture Schemes for Sustainable Development in Northeast, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined how investment analysts influence small and medium enterprises (SMEs) venture schemes for sustainable development in Northeast Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design, which was guided by three objectives and hypotheses. The population for this study was 3392, comprising Investment Analysts, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Stakeholders in SME Funding, Industry Experts, Academics and Government Agencies and Regulatory Bodies, and Local Communities and Support Organizations in Northeast, Nigeria. GPower 3.1 was used to obtained the sample size of 358 respondents, stratified random sampling technique was employed to categorizing the respondents according to their strata, and random sampling was used to selecting samples from each stratum. Roles of Investment Analysts on SMEs Venture Questionnaire (RIASVQ) was used to collect data, it was trial tested with 0.81 reliability coefficient using Cronbach alpha. Mean, standard deviation and Pearson's correlation were used in the test of hypotheses. The results show that, Investment analysts play a pivotal role in facilitating SME funding by providing strategic guidance, conducting thorough financial analyses, and assisting in accessing funding networks. The study concluded that, Investment analysts play a crucial role in offering strategic advice, doing comprehensive financial evaluations and helping small and medium enterprises connect with funding sources. Thus recommended that, stakeholders, policymakers and entities involved in supporting SME growth should strive to streamline regulatory procedures and offer more explicit instructions for SME financing. This will assist investment analysts in navigating regulatory hurdles more efficiently and streamlining funding processes for SMEs.