Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The researcher attempted to assess the effectiveness of Bank of Agriculture (BOA) microloan scheme on job creation among micro and small enterprises. This is in view of the unprecedented rise in the unemployment rate in Nigeria and the widely perceived belief that among other policies, harnessing the financial capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) may possibly dictate the pace of the country’s achievement of job creation. Despite a wide array of studies on MSME growth, only a handful of rigorous studies are available to provide evidence of the effect of finance on labour market outcomes in the sector, as well as on the use of more relevant assessment techniques on the performance of public policies and interventions related to MSME financing. Through the use of mixed methods including questionnaire administration, key informant interviews, focused group discussions and desk research, this research undertook a theory of change-based assessment of Bank of Agriculture microfinance scheme, to assess the extent to which the scheme is effective in contributing to the achievement of the MSME Policy’s fundamental objective of job creation. Descriptive statistics using frequency tables and graphs as well as OECD COTE (Coherence, Objectives, Targets and Evaluation) Framework for policy formulation were applied as methods of analysis. The findings show a fundamental flaw in relation to the lack of strategic alignment of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) operations with the MSME Policy. The Bank is seen to be operating in a silo as the strategic direction the MSME tilt does not seem to derive from the overall MSME Policy. BOA is also not seen to be positioned to engage the practice of performance measurement and reporting generally and in particular of the fundamental objective of job creation, as stipulated in the MSME Financing Policy of government. It was also revealed that a majority of enterprises that took BOA microloans loans were not able to create jobs as many of them were operating as “survivalists”. Although the BOA microloan scheme is potentially capable of supporting targeted growth-oriented microenterprises in specific trades to create jobs, given the attractive concessional terms, the Bank is not achieving this objective in its present state and form neither is it seen to be positioned to do so due to several supply and demand side factors. An ongoing reform process in the Bank during this research period may be able to address part of this concern if more strategic steps are taken to surmount the constraints. Furthermore, BOA does not have a functional performance measurement framework and monitoring and evaluation system that can be used as the basis for measuring goal attainment such as the goal of job creation, especially in relation to the outcomes of the provision of financial services to the MSME sector. For BOA to be successful and truly developmental in focus especially in relation to its contribution to the strategic objective of job creation, the study therefore recommended the key thrust of a new framework for addressing the current unemployment situation to include an effective alignment of macro, meso (sectoral) and micro policies. At the (micro) institutional level, it is recommended that BOA should: • improve its governance and management system as well as the integration of development impact considerations and measurement; • create innovative financing products for growth-oriented microenterprises especially through cluster financing and cluster-based development; • increase wholesale lending through the provision of on-lending products to performing microfinance institutions (MFIs); • engage the services of BDS organisations to source for credible clients and build clients’ entrepreneurial capacity including assisting them to access markets. In line with the need to integrate development impact considerations and measurement into its entire operations, the researcher designed a monitoring and evaluation framework that can enhance the tracking of the attainment of job creation policy goal in BOA microloan scheme. In this vein, the institution is to adopt formal “lessons learnt” mechanisms to integrate evaluation findings into future activities and “put development back into development banking” (Smallridge, 2017). At the meso level in the study context, horizontal cooperation is recommended where all relevant institutions are aligned and the impact of various policy measures on entrepreneurship and job creation are taken into account. Lastly, an employment – sensitive macro-economic framework must pursue: the relaxation of monetary and credit conditions that are supportive of employment creation in the economy; fiscal prudence in the context of exploiting fiscal space to accommodate investments with high employment potentials; use of legislative mechanisms for ensuring full and effective implementation of annual budgets, program and projects at all levels and development and effective use of computerised Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Nigeria.

To achieve poverty alleviation as stated by the UN’s global goals and agenda 2030 more research in the field is needed. The MSME segment has a vital role to play for economic growth in developing countries. However, no clear growth has been seen for these enterprises even though much aid has been given. Efforts to create a business training system has been made but will play a bigger role in the future.  Thru a comparative cross-sectional study it is showcased what skills are connected to enterprise growth. This study aims to help explain what managerial skills should be further investigated when it comes to investing time and resources in business training systems. By interviewing the MSME managers on site and discussing the matter with CEO’s of business training organizations unique data was collected. With the help of NVivo software data is processed and categorized. Final correlations to growth by examining the differences between growing and non-growing managers skills in different fields.  Similarities in skills prioritized between managers in growing and non-growing was detected. Findings suggest that business plan and accounting skills are more present in growing enterprises. Ultimately the differences were not enough to demonstrate managerial skill as a strong contributor to enterprise growth.

Submitted by JOSE CARVALHO FILHO null (jose.carvalho@urca.br) on 2017-11-07T19:37:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Final Carvalho.pdf: 2857653 bytes, checksum: cab6b3112cdb1a8763aa645bf65361dd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-11-21T13:41:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 carvalhofilho_j_dr_guara.pdf: 2857653 bytes, checksum: cab6b3112cdb1a8763aa645bf65361dd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-21T13:41:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 carvalhofilho_j_dr_guara.pdf: 2857653 bytes, checksum: cab6b3112cdb1a8763aa645bf65361dd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O meio ambiente tem sido a fonte natural de recursos para oferecer bem-estar às necessidades humanas. As empresas de transformação são as principais consumidoras dos recursos naturais, que em algum momento da cadeia produtiva foram retirados do ambiente. Como resultado das atividades produtivas das empresas, o meio ambiente assimila a perda de recursos não renováveis, a incapacidade de recuperar suas funções e a degradação causada pelos impactos ambientais, motivados por resíduos e emissões. As pressões sociais e governamentais expressam o desejo de proteger o meio ambiente por meio do conceito de sustentabilidade dos sistemas produtivos. Muitas propostas e ferramentas tem surgido no cenário mundial, uma delas feita em conjunto por entidades mundialmente reconhecidas, como o Programa das Nações Unidas para o Meio ambiente (PNUMA), e a Conferência das Nações Unidas para o Meio ambiente e Desenvolvimento (CNUMAD), foi intitulada Produção Mais Limpa (P+L) e se propõe a evitar a controlar a poluição causada por resíduos e emissões antes que ocorra. Esta tese propõe diretrizes para implantação e gestão de princípios da P+L, como estratégia preventiva contra poluição para as empresas produtoras de calçados plásticos injetados. Essas diretrizes foram propostas a partir da fundamentação teórica obtida de uma pesquisa bibliográfica que contemplou os artigos mais citados em publicações de abrangência internacional. O referencial teórico obtido sobre o assunto deu suporte para a elaboração de um questionário semiestruturado que orientou a coleta de dados em uma pesquisa qualitativa do tipo estudo de casos múltiplos, que mapeou o processo produtivo das empresas desse extrato e permitiu o pesquisador vivenciar a realidade dessas empresas e verificar o confronto entre a teoria e a prática em relação aos 14 princípios da P+L selecionados na literatura sobre o assunto. Após a coleta dos dados em empresas de porte micro, pequenas e médias, sendo duas de cada porte num total de seis empresas estudadas, a transversalidade da analise cruzada permitiu a generalizar a aplicação dos princípios em relação a realidade para dar suporte ao desenvolvimento das diretrizes de implementação que uma vez adotadas pelas empresas propiciará a mesma os benefícios relacionados a Produção Mais Limpa (P+L). / The environment has been the natural source of resources to provide well-being to human needs. The manufacturing industry are the main consumers of natural resources that remove them from the environment at some point along the production chain. Because of the productive activities of the companies, the environment assimilates the consumption of nonrenewable resources, the inability to recover its environmental functions and the degradation caused by the impacts of the waste and emissions. Social and governmental pressures express the desire to protect the environment towards the concept of sustainability of productions systems. Many proposals and tools have emerged along the world, one of them made jointly by globally recognized entities such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), entitled Cleaner Production (CP) and aims to avoid controlling the pollution caused by waste and emissions before it occurs. This thesis proposes guidelines for implementation and management of CP principles, as a preventive strategy against pollution for manufacturing industry of injected plastic shoes. A bibliographical research contemplated the most cited articles in publications of international scope and generated a theoretical reference that based the basis for the formulation of the guidelines for implementation and management of CP principles. The theoretical reference supported a protocol that guided the data collection in a qualitative research of the multiple case study. The case study mapped the productive process of the companies researched and allowed the researcher to experience the reality of these companies and check the confrontation between theory and practices in relation to the 14 principles of CP selected in literature. After collect data in a total of six companies, two of each, micro, small and medium size, the transversally of the cross analysis allowed generalize the application of the principles in relation to reality to support the development of the guidelines which once adopted by the companies will provide the same benefits related to Cleaner Production (CP).

The objective of the study is to identify how micro-enterprises can be integrated into local value chains by using the so-called "value chain approach". The "value chain approach" has become a relatively popular approach among donor agencies and NGOs engaged in Private Sector Development in recent years, being based on insights from studies on global value chains. The study includes investigation into the following points: 1) Which business linkages exist among micro-enterprises and with enterprises of different sizes and sectors, and how are they related to the upgrading process of micro-enterprises? 2) What influence does the legal status of micro-enterprises have on the development of business linkages and on the upgrading process? 3) How can the development of business linkages and the upgrading process (and, therefore, the integration into value chains) be supported and enhanced within the framework of PSD? The empirical study was conducted in Uganda. It includes a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches: (1) a questionnaire-based survey among micro-entrepreneurs, and (2) expert or key informant interviews, using a semi-structured interview guideline. The study provides an assessment of the relevance and applicability of the "value chain approach" to micro-enterprises and local value chains in the context of a developing country characterised by low levels of industrialisation, as well as policy recommendations for practitioners (from public and private sectors, as well as donor community, NGOs and civil society). Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of the issue of informality of micro- and small-scale enterprises. (author's abstract)