ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING AND MARKETING GROWTH OF SMES IN RIVERS STATE.

Abstract

The study examined the nexus between venture capital financing and marketing growth of SMEs in River State. The correlational design within a quantitative method was adopted; the population comprised of 2,596 SMEs in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. A sample size of 310 was drawn from the population using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table. The simple random sampling was adopted and the data were gathered using copies of questionnaire which were personally administered to respondents. The reliability test was tested using the Cronbach Alpha method with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23, and it was 0.78, which is higher than the benchmark of 0.7. 5 items were used in measuring each of the variables and the item were given on a 5-point likert scare ranging from strongly disagree, disagree, agree, neutral and strongly agree. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation was used in testing the stated hypotheses. From the foregoing analysis, it is evident that venture capital financing showed a significant relationship with marketing growth of SMEs in River State. The empirical results of this study confirmed this as a positive and significant relationship was found between debt financing and market share growth of SMEs in River State; equity financing and market share growth of SMEs in River State. It was concluded that venture capital financing is a significant predictor of growth of SMEs in River State via equity financing and debt financing. In line with the analysis and conclusion, the study recommends that: Given that the role of equity financing is key to the growth and survival of any firm; venture capitalist should make available equity financing for SMEs and venture fund managers should periodically assess SMEs under their control to determine the state of debt management ability. This will enhance profitability and performance of small and medium scale enterprises.