ABSTRACT:

Small and medium enterprises have been considered as the engine of economic growth and for promoting equitable development. Small and medium scale enterprises are strategic to attainment of economic prosperity objective of any government. The economy depends on its working population for economic growth and development in which the youths constitute greatest percentage and this further establishes the reason why the youth should be gainfully employed. The youth should be encouraged to develop and nurture entrepreneurial spirit since entrepreneurship reduces poverty and improve standard of living. In this research a total of two hundred and fifty (250) copies of the questionnaires were administered out of which two hundred (200) copies representing (80%) of the questionnaire were properly completed and retrieved while fifty (50) copies representing 20% were not retrieved. The instruments used to gather information for this study includes questionnaires and interview. Two different statistical methods were employed to analyze data for the study; the tools are simple percentage and chi-square (X ).The results shows that small and medium scale enterprises and sustainable development of the Nigerian economy are related, just as promotion of SMEs and improvement in employment generation are related. More so, focus must be on sound education, removal of structural distortions, and creation of business-friendly environment. Lastly, government should make policies that will target macroeconomic stability. The study concluded that for Nigeria SMEs to contribute significantly in alleviating poverty, the country must improve on her power supply and security.