KEKE BAN POLICY AND PERFORMANCE OF SMES WITHIN YENAGOA METROPOLIS OF BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was carried out to assess the effects of the ban on Keke (tricycle taxi) on small and medium-scaled enterprises (SMEs) in the Yenagoa metropolis. The study’s specific objectives were to evaluate the socio-economic impacts of the Keke ban on consumers' access to SMEs, examine the extent to which the Keke ban policy has affected the performance of SMEs, and access the socio-economic impacts of the Keke ban policy on employment levels of SMEs within the Yenagoa metropolis. To this end, the cross-sectional research design was adopted. The population of the study was three hundred persons made up of SMEs managers, owners and employees. The Taro Yemen formula was employed to determine a sample size of one hundred and seventy-one respondents while simple random sampling technique was used. Data was collected from a structured questionnaire and were analysed descriptively with simple percentage tables while hypothesis were tested with Chi-square analysis. The Keke ban has significantly increased transportation costs, reduced customer access, disrupted SME operations, and negatively impacted employment, ultimately harming business profitability and worsening economic strain on SMEs and workers. To mitigate the negative impacts of the Keke ban, authorities should introduce subsidized transport options like regulated mini-buses, provide financial support such as tax reliefs and low-interest loans to affected SMEs, and encourage businesses to implement workforce mobility solutions like employee shuttles or transport allowances.