EFFECT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES): AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FASHION DESIGN INDUSTRY IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREA COUNCIL (AMAC).

Abstract

In an ideal context, entrepreneurial skills such as innovation, leadership, and communication serve as critical drivers of SME performance by fostering creativity, improving decision-making, and strengthening customer relations. These skills are expected to translate into tangible outcomes such as higher sales volumes, consistent production output, and timely delivery of goods and services. Employing a survey design, the research sampled 272 fashion designers from a population of 523, using Slovin's formula and simple random sampling. Data were collected via questionnaires and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (regression analysis) in SPSS. The findings revealed that innovative/creative skills significantly boost sales volume (β = 0.622, p < 0.001), explaining 38.6% of its variance. Leadership skills profoundly influence production output, measured by the number of dresses made (β = 0.801, p < 0.001), accounting for 64.1% of its variance. Furthermore, communication skills have a strong positive effect on timely delivery (β = 0.786, p < 0.001), responsible for 61.8% of its variance. The study concluded that entrepreneurial skills are indispensable for fashion SME performance in AMAC. It is recommended that entrepreneurs cultivate innovation through continuous learning, invest in leadership development to optimize team productivity, and adopt proactive communication strategies to ensure reliable service delivery and build client trust.