Financing of Micro and Small Scale Enterprises and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation

The establishment of microfinance banks in Nigeria was to assist small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria in raising their productive capacity and level of employment generation, thus alleviating poverty and enhancing human capital development. The objective of this paper therefore was to examine extent of the contribution of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Data were collected from randomly selected sample size of sixty (6o) members and non-members of MFIs inTaraba State.The data was analyzed using frequency and regression analysis at 0 =0.05 aided with the use of SPSS statistical package. The results of the analysis revealed that shows microfinance Institutions (MFIs) has significant effect on poverty alleviation and sustainable development. The paper also established that micro-finance is indeed a strategy for poverty reduction. It was recommended that Microfinance can be more viable strategy for sustainable poverty alleviation if more is to be done on programme outreach and depth.