Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown on Small Scale Business Owners in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

<jats:p>Nigeria has played significant role in the economy for sustainability growth and development in Africa. However, the outbreak and spread of the Covid-19 has affected the small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), the basic unit of economic expansion. As the pandemic continues to ravage the country, SMEs are struggling to survive due to decline in the volumes of production and harsh market condition increase with its severe effects on the population. This study intends to investigate the sound effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on small business owners in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The research method employed is a descriptive research design of the survey type. The choice of this method is based on the fact that it focuses on people, event or phenomenon. The population for this study consisted of small business owners and simple random sampling techniques was used to select the respondents from five (5) communities under Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The study area is given academic attention due to strategic location for socio-economic advancement. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequency counts and percentage were used on the three research questions raised while chi-square was used on the two hypotheses. The findings of this study revealed that in hypothesis one, there are no significant effects of the Covid-19 lockdown on small business owner, because the p-value of each of the items is less than 0.05 (p&lt;0.05) and, therefore, rejected. To inferred that there is a significant effect of the Covid-19 lockdown on small business owner, the hypotheses two revealed that there was no significant difference in the opinion of male and female business owners on the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown on small business owners (t (148) = 1.103; p&gt;0.05). Therefore, the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown on small business owners were not rejected.</jats:p>