Al-Hikmah University Journal

Eighty per cent (80%) of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria exited commercial undertakings before five (5) years of operation, one of the reasons adduced to this is inadequate access to finance as they were considered un-bankable by commercial banks. The existence of micro-finance institutions creates a platform for securing loans devoid of administrative bottlenecks associated with commercial banks. The study, therefore, examines microfinance bank services and SMEs' survival in North-Central Nigeria. Data were elicited from 370 respondents who were selected using a 4-stage sampling procedure. This was done with the aid of copies of the questionnaire while analysis was achieved using descriptive statistics and ordinary least square regression. Variables that significantly explained the survival of small and medium-scale enterprises among the respondents were: microfinance banking, monitoring and supervision, training and capacity building as well as group formation. Non-financial services of microfinance banks, with special emphasis on the provision of supervision/monitoring, should be improved upon as a way of beefing up the survival rate of SMEs in the region. An attempt should also be made to improve the quality of training and capacity-building services rendered by microfinance banks to exert a positive influence on SMEs' survival