Appraisal of Central Bank of Nigeria’s Intervention Funds and Small Business Growth in Katsina State

The Central Bank of Nigeria has deployed several development finance intervention funds to stimulate small business growth in underserved regions, yet the accessibility and impact of these funds in North West Nigerian states such as Katsina remain insufficiently documented. This study appraises the impact of Central Bank of Nigeria intervention funds on small business growth in Katsina State. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 230 small business owners who applied for or received funding from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund, the Anchor Borrowers Programme, and the Creative Industry Financing Initiative in Katsina metropolis and Daura Local Government Area. Business growth was measured by employment generation, revenue growth, and asset accumulation over a two-year post-disbursement period. Descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test were employed to compare growth outcomes between fund beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Results showed that businesses that received intervention funds recorded significantly higher mean revenue growth (45.3% vs. 18.7%, t = 6.21, p < 0.01) and employed an average of 2.3 additional workers compared to 0.6 in the control group. However, collateral and documentation requirements were cited as the primary barriers to fund access by 69% of non-beneficiary applicants. The study concludes that Central Bank of Nigeria intervention funds meaningfully stimulate small business growth in Katsina State but require simplified application procedures to reach smaller and informal enterprises. Keywords: CBN intervention funds, small business growth, Katsina State, development finance, North West Nigeria