Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria have not been able to
adequately carry out their traditional and conventional roles as the foundation
of indigenous and overall economic development as the case with countries in
Europe, America and Asia despite supports by governmental and nongovernmental
institutions. This is not unconnected to dearth of information on
the compositions and potentialities of the entrepreneurial posture of Nigerian
SMEs that made designing appropriate interventions relatively difficult.
Therefore, this paper primarily provided information on the entrepreneurial
orientations (EO) of Nigerian SMEs and how they can be developed and
harnessed for SMEs development. Hence, it examined the levels, patterns,
strengths and weaknesses in the entrepreneurial orientation of SMEs in
Southwestern Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling techniques were adopted in data
collection, the data were collected through questionnaire administered on 279
SMEs in Lagos state and Ibadan area of Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria. The
data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The
result showed that the SMEs were moderate entrepreneurial oriented and at
best, the SMEs are more risk-taker than proactive and least innovative. The
paper suggested ways of improving the entrepreneurial orientation and observed
that it is a task for all primary stakeholders (government, organised private
sector, and multilateral institutions) providing assistance to SMEs in Nigeria.