Abstract:

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the sustainable economic growth and development of most emerging economies. In Nigeria, it is substantiated that, the big companies left alone would not be able to fast track the needed growth and development that would bring us closer to the first twenty most viable economies in the world by 2020. Therefore, it becomes imperative for the development of the SMEs in order to tackle the specific economic challenges that are now facing the country such as the eradication of poverty, harnessing of existing raw materials to the production of goods needed to achieve sustainable economic development. This study adopted the survey design method. The population is drawn from the SMEs in Jimeta/Yola metropolis Adamawa state. The general research objective is to examine how SMEs can serve as a solution to the challenging unemployment problems in Yola metropolis, Adamawa state, and the specific objectives are: to identify the challenges of SMEs and to evaluate their contributions in the economic development of the study area. The stratified random sampling method was considered most apt for this study. The test of hypothesis revealed that the SMEs in Yola metropolis is facing some challenges. The second hypothesis further confirmed that the SMEs contributes to the sustainable economic development of the study area. It is concluded that SMEs in Adamawa State is being faced with numerous challenges that are not within their control. However, they contribute so much to the sustainable economic development of the state through job creation and providing internally generated revenue to the government. It is there recommended that the government should create a pragmatic solution to the challenges encountered by the SMEs through the provision of infrastructural amenities, low-interest rate, the security of life and properties among other facilities.