Socio-economic Determinants of Investment Patterns of Small Scale Agro-based Enterprises in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The study examined the socioeconomic determinants of investment patterns of small scale agri-based enterprises in Anambra State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study explored the influence of age, income and savings of enterprise as well as the prevalent lending interest rate on the investment patterns of small scale agro-based enterprises in Anambra State. The study was guided by the Accelerator and Keynesian theories of investment. A survey research design was adopted and the major instrument for data collection was a questionnaire. 1815 registered small scale agro-based enterprises in Anambra state made up the population of the study and a sample size of 328 was determined using the Taro Yamane formula. Face and content validity tests were carried out on the questionnaire and the reliability was tested using the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. Descriptive statistics such as frequency count, mean score, bar charts, percentage and Regression analysis were used in analyzing data. The analysis revealed that income of enterprise (t-value= 3.111 and p-value=0.002),  and savings of enterprises (t-value= 4.134 and p-value=0.000), as well as current lending interest rate (t-value= 13.675 and p-value=0.000), exert a strong positive influence on investment patterns of small scale agro-based enterprises in Anambra State. It was therefore recommended that the Government at different levels and institutions may prioritize the conscientization of young entrepreneurs to venture more into agri-based enterprises, adequate and timely financing may be provided to small scale agro-based entrepreneurs in Anambra State, Owners of small scale agro-based enterprises may adopt statutory savings to improve their capital base and government may direct financial institutions to reduce the current lending interest rate to enable the business owners to survive the present turbulent economic environment.