Evaluating Innovations in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Bayelsa State

Abstract

Innovation in its modern meaning is "a new idea, creative thoughts, new imaginations in form of device or method". Innovation is often also viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs. Such innovation takes place through the provision of more effective products, processes, services, technologies. The aim of the paper is to give the view on innovation activities in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in Bayelsa state. The paper is divided into two parts. Firstly, the paper is to evaluate situation in innovation activities conducted by small and medium enterprises in Bayelsa state, identifying the main barriers to develop innovation activities, formulate some recommendations on how to overcome these barriers. The second part of the paper is to present the importance of innovativeness, which is viewed as one of the prerequisites for successful innovation activities. Main findings revolve around the facts that product innovations are predominant in SMEs in Bayelsa state and that there is a significant impact of these on growth of firms‟ turnover, profitability and employment generation. And recommended that Prospective entrepreneurs given the resource constraints and weak/unstructured National Innovation Systems (NIS) that characterize developing economies, it makes sense to assume that SMEs therein would focus on incremental innovations and that these would have some positive impact on firm performance and students of entrepreneurship education should be exposed to different innovative schemes, Bayelsa state government should support small and medium enterprises innovation through grants and aid.