Fiscal and Monetary Policies on Small-Scale Construction Enterprises (SSCE) in Imo state Nigeria: The Pecuniary Glitch

Abstract

Along with the COVID-19 pandemic saga, business operations in the Nigerian state have 
severely deteriorated in the past two years. The country's economy has benefited from the 
small-scale industry, with the construction industry playing a significant role. However, a 
significant hindrance that is clearly assessed in this study is the availability of fast and enough 
money to support the operations of the stakeholders in this industry. Using a well-structured 
questionnaire and a systematic sampling strategy, data were gathered from small-sized 
construction businesses in the Imo state. Utilizing frequencies, percentages, and mean analysis, 
the data was examined. It was revealed that commercial and microfinance banks are among the 
top financiers of the identified small-scale construction enterprises. However, the level of 
financial aid accessible to them is quite low with (18.75%) of the small contractors been limited 
to 500,000-1m; (31.25%) have access to 1.5m-2m and 2.5m-3m respectively, (12.5%) are 
limited to 3.5m-4m and 6.25% are limited to 5m and above which establishes the fact that the 
lower the range of financial aid requested the higher the rate of access given. Interest rates, 
with a mean value of 4.43 and government policies with a mean value of 4.41 are two elements 
that have an enormous influence on the availability of these financial help. Government 
regulation of fiscal and monetary policies, as well as encouragement of the minimization of 
interest on loans available to these firms, are all recommended in order to improve service 
delivery in small-scale construction enterprises in Nigeria