ENTERPRISES

Small and Medium Enterprises play a very important role in development of the Nigerian Economy. Making up about 97% of the entire economy, they serve as a source of employment generation, innovation, competition, economic dynamism which ultimately lead to poverty alleviation and national growth. Tax policy is one of the factors that constitute the Small businesses’ economic environment. This research work tries to establish if any relationship exists between the growth of Small businesses and the tax policy environment in which they operate in Nigeria. Questionnaires were distributed to Small businesses in Benin City, Edo State, problem of high tax rates, multiple taxation, complex tax regulations and lack of proper enlightenment or education about tax related issues. Although there was a general perception that tax is an important source of fund for development of the economy and provision of social services, the study revealed a significant negative relationship between taxes and the business’ ability to sustain itself and to expand. In order to obtain a vibrant and flourishing SME sector, the tax policy needs to be appropriate such that it will neither be an encumbrance to the Small businesses nor discourage voluntary compliance. A suggested solution is by increasing tax incentives through reducing tax rates and increasing tax authorities’ support services towards small and medium enterprises.

The study examined social media and its impact on small scale businesses in Nigeria using Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State as a case study. The study specific objectives was to examine the role of social media in enhancing the SMEs’ profitability, determine if social media affect market expansion of SMEs and examine whether social media influence the growth and development of SMEs. The study was restricted to SME operator in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The study's research population consisted of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, with a particular focus on their utilization of social media. In this local government area, there exists a substantial pool of SMEs, numbering more than one thousand (1,580), as revealed in a field survey conducted in 2023. The selection was entirely random, involving the participation of
100 employees from a selection of four (4) distinct SMEs. Specifically, 25 questionnaires were distributed to each of the four SMEs. The reason for using simple random sampling technique is to ensures that every member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. The data collected will be analyzed in regard to the research questions and hypotheses for the study using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 22)

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) often face challenges in managing the overwhelming number of security alerts generated by their IT systems. Traditional alert systems lack contextual intelligence, leading to alert fatigue, delayed responses, and missed critical incidents. This study presents a context-aware Alert Management System that enhances prioritization accuracy by incorporating operational factors such as alert frequency, entity type, business hours, and historical severity. The system was designed and implemented using a React-based simulation environment with 50 synthetic alerts representing realistic SME security events. Comparative evaluation between a baseline model ((Severity + Criticality)/2) and an enhanced model ((Severity + Criticality + Context Factor)/3) demonstrated a 42.42% reduction in alert fatigue and
complete elimination of false-positive high-priority alerts while maintaining 100% detection of genuine threats. The findings confirm that context-aware alert management significantly improves prioritization accuracy and analyst efficiency. The proposed framework provides SMEs with a cost-effective, transparent, and scalable solution for strengthening their cybersecurity posture and improving real-time incident response.

Information Technology is the study or use of systems (especially computers and telecommunications) for storing, retrieving, and sending information. This study examines the Impact of Information Technology on the Development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Benin City. Survey research design was employed in the study. Primary data was collected through hand-administration of questionnaires to respondents with a convenience sampling method. The data obtained was gotten from a total of 50 respondents from business owners/managers as well as small and medium scale businesses in Benin City. Furthermore, descriptive and percentage/inferential statistics was used to analyze the data that were collected with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The findings revealed that There is a relationship between Information Technology and business development in Benin City. Based on the findings of this research work, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Benin City have the potential to increase its productive capacity through the efficient use of Information Technology. Recommendations is made on Modern Technologies, communicating with key stakeholders such as Producers, Manufacturers and Suppliers in order to foster a better working relationship.