The Impact of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises on Economic Development of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) has proved to be a major intervention in resolving the problems of poverty and unemployment in most developing countries. This study examines the impact of SMEs on Economic Development of Ekiti State (2006-2013). A survey research design was adopted to obtain data from 150 respondents comprising of traders, artisans, production factories and other small and medium enterprises which were selected using multi stage sampling method across 16 local government areas in Ekiti State. Three Null hypotheses were tested to identify the significant effects of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises on poverty reduction, employment generation and improvement in the standard of living in Ekiti State. Data for this study was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Chi-square at 0.05 level of significance was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between SMEs and poverty reduction, employment generation and improvement in standard of living of people in Ekiti State. Furthermore, the result revealed that there was a 57% increase in the number of SMEs in the State between the years 2009-2013. The study concludes that access to capital funding by reduction in the interest rate on loan offered by banks can boost the performance of SMEs in Ekiti State and Nigeria at large. Keywords: SMEs, Poverty Alleviation, Unemployment Bank, Economic developmen

Engineering Students’ Innovation Competence: A Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and South Africa

The main purpose of this study is to assess the role of tertiary institutions in impacting innovation competence among graduating students in the engineering discipline. To achieve this aim, two research questions were investigated: First, we examine if the graduating students possess some key innovative competence qualities innovative competence which include qualities such as creativity, leadership, self-efficacy, energy and risk propensity. Secondly, we investigate the key elements of tertiary institutions that impact innovative competence among the graduating students. A structured questionnaire was administered to graduating engineering students at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria and University of Johannesburg, South Africa during the 2019/2020 academic session and their responses were compared. Results indicate that students generally had a high assessment of their innovation competence and attributed some of this competence to their institutions learning environment

Engineering Students’ Innovation Competence: A Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and South Africa

The main purpose of this study is to assess the role of tertiary institutions in impacting innovation competence among graduating students in the engineering discipline. To achieve this aim, two research questions were investigated: First, we examine if the graduating students possess some key innovative competence qualities innovative competence which include qualities such as creativity, leadership, self-efficacy, energy and risk propensity. Secondly, we investigate the key elements of tertiary institutions that impact innovative competence among the graduating students. A structured questionnaire was administered to graduating engineering students at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria and University of Johannesburg, South Africa during the 2019/2020 academic session and their responses were compared. Results indicate that students generally had a high assessment of their innovation competence and attributed some of this competence to their institutions learning environment

Probing the Financial Sustainability of Eskom’s Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs) Utilisation (2018–2021)

Contributing to achieving sustainability in South Africa’s energy sector, this study probes financial sustainability and its relationship to the environmental sustainability of Eskom. This is because, over the past three financial years (FY2018–2019 to FY2020–2021) of Eskom’s generating plants’ performance, the energy availability factor (EAF) has taken a deep dive, reaching an extremely low generation availability year-end performance of 64.2%, translating to approximately an average of 29,800 MW available generation capacity out of a nominal generation capacity of 46,466 MW in FY2020–2021. Therefore, the study employed a quantitative research methodology, where the relevant financial records were analysed, and the necessary energy calculations made using descriptive analysis in Microsoft Excel. The findings show that the volumes (GWh) produced by the OCGTs during this period far exceed the regulatory approved volumes, thus attracting substantial costs, amounting to ZAR 25.9 bn instead of ZAR 8.9 bn, that could have been spent on the OCGTs if the level of efficiency achieved in FY2016–2017 and FY2017–2018 was maintained. The analysis also revealed that the OCGTs’ long-term financial and environmental sustainability could be achieved through switching from diesel to natural gas, thus resulting in lower fuel costs and lower emissions. Further, potential savings of approximately ZAR 27 bn (excluding capital expenditure) at a 10% load factor can be realised over a ten-year period when the natural gas price is sitting at ZAR 85/GJ (minimum). Finally, in order to attain financial and environmental sustainability, it is recommended that both Eskom’s and the independent power producers’ (IPPs) OCGTs must switch fuel from diesel to natural gas and be run at a 10% load factor, allowing the OCGTs to be run as mid-merit generators

Evaluating the Role of Nigerian Bankruptcy Law in Enhancing Female Entrepreneurship in Nigeria

The study focused on the role of Nigerian bankruptcy law in fostering female entrepreneurship. The study examined how the current bankruptcy law supports female entrepreneurship in Nigeria. This was motivated by the Nigerian government’s recent entrepreneurship drive to meet the country’s excessive challenge of unemployment and poverty. Five principles were utilised in this study to measure current Nigerian bankruptcy law to evaluate its effect on the female entrepreneurship drive in Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology to evaluate legal doctrines and relevant literatures. The study’s findings revealed that the present Nigerian bankruptcy law is not entirely favourable to female entrepreneurship. This conclusion was arrived at having measured the Nigerian bankruptcy law against five testable principles. These principles were developed to help as a guide in measuring bankruptcy laws to determine whether they are entrepreneur-friendly. In light of this, recommendations were proffered to reform the current bankruptcy law to introduce better policies that enhance female entrepreneurship

Towards global water security: The role of cleaner production

This paper delves into the pivotal role of cleaner production in the pursuit of global water security. Leveraging Biblioshiny, a robust bibliometric analysis tool based on R-Software, the paper examined Scopus data, following PICO protocols and PRISM guidelines. The study's findings underscore the potential of cleaner production strategies on wastewater to underpin water security. To this end, the study proffers three policy interventions: an ''Industrial Cleaner Production Policy,'' a ''Water Eutrophication Prevention Policy,'' and an ''Environmental Sustainability Club Policy.'' These policies collectively constitute a comprehensive framework for ushering in an era of water security anchored in cleaner production principles. In conclusion, the study calls for the seamless integration of cleaner production into global discourse on water security, particularly within the United Nations framework, and its incorporation into various policy documents. This approach ensures cleaner production's central role as a multifaceted intervention tool, enhancing global commitment to water security

Analysis of the Productivity Dynamics of Electricity Distribution Regions in Ghana

Electrical power distribution is the most important division in the power supply chain. However, its sustainability in terms of efficiency is very important for the growth of every country. This main objective of the paper is to assess the productivity dynamics of this process using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology to analyse the effectiveness of the electricity distribution regions (EDRs) over a period of 7 years. The paper adapts the biennial Malmquist productivity index by infusing it with the slacks-based measure (SBM) to assess the productivity dynamics of EDRs in Ghana. Productivity dynamics were assessed by decomposing the SBM-BMPI productivity scores into the efficiency, technology, and scale change. It was discovered that the productivity of EDRs in Ghana progressed by 16.23% per annum over the sample period. Productivity was driven mainly by technological change and not the efficiency changes and scale changes