ABSTRACT:

The growth and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been a focus for policy makers and researchers in the developed and developing countries. Review of extant literature revealed that the ability of the SMEs to achieve higher performance has been inhibited by lack of skills on the part of the entrepreneurs. This study therefore investigates the effect of entrepreneurial skills on the performance of small and medium scale enterprises in Kaduna state. The survey research design was employed in the study which is cross sectional in nature. Primary data was collected through questionnaire administration. The data was collected from a sample of 174 drawn from a population of 201 SMEs. The study employed stratified and simple random sampling technique in selecting the samples and the unit of analysis was the owner-managers representing each SME. Inferential statistics was used to analyze the data collected from the field with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study. The findings revealed that organizing and controlling skills have significant positive effect on the performance of SMEs in the state, while planning skills has insignificant but positive effect on the performance of SMEs in the state. The outcome of the study provided an important insight to both academics and managers with findings for further understanding on the effect of entrepreneurial skills on performance of SMEs. The study recommended that a combined effort by governments at all levels and Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs) are required towards capacity building for the entrepreneurs on the acquisition of the planning, organizing and controlling skills for better business management and higher business performance.