John Amoah

Faculty of Management and Economics,

Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic

amoah@utb.cz 

ORCID 0000-0002-3558-2077

Enhancing SME contribution to economic development: A perspective from an emerging economy

Jaroslav Belas

Faculty of Management and Economics, 

Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic

belas@utb.cz 

ORCID 0000-0002-5900-997X

Raymond Dziwornu

Faculty of Accounting and Finance,

University of Professional Studies,

Ghana

dziray28@yahoo.com 

ORCID 0000-0002-7795-3374

Khurram Ajaz Khan

Faculty of Management and Economics,

Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic

khan@utb.cz 

ORCID 0000-0001-5728-8955

Abstract. Small-medium enterprises (SMEs) have a huge and not fully maximized potential to address the socio-economic challenges that emerging economies are facing. This study assessed the contributions of SMEs in an emerging economy, using ADANCO version 2.0 of the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM). A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 375 employees of SMEs in the fashion, microfinance, and hospitality sectors in four major business regions in Ghana, namely the Greater Accra, Central, Western and Ashanti Regions. The results reveal that SMEs continue to provide maximum support and contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as employ about 70 percent of the entire working population. The study recommends that SMEs should receive greater attention from the government through appropriate tailor-made policies to support and assist them to unleash their full potential to enhance economic growth.

Received: September, 2021

1st Revision: February, 2022

Accepted: June, 2022

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2022/15-2/5

JEL Classification: M12, L80, N70

Keywords: SMEs, perspective, economic development, emerging economy