Many small businesses earn N223,250 in monthly revenue, a new study from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Financial Access Initiative research center of New York University has revealed. According to the study, Nigerian firms earn less than firms in the other countries studied. It stated that half of the firms it studied earned less than N223,250 in monthly revenue (PPP USD 1,547). This is about half (46 per cent) of the firms surveyed reported, holding a loan of some kind, most of which were from informal sources, including suppliers, friends, and family. The report, titled, ‘Nigeria small firm diaries’, was supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Argidius Foundation was a global research project that provided insight into the financial lives of small businesses in seven countries across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. The study in Nigeria collected data from 161 small businesses in urban, suburban, or semi-rural areas surrounding three locations: Enugu, Kaduna, and Lagos, between August 2021 and August 2022, and was focused on three industries—light manufacturing, agri-processing, and services.

Punch