Can small and medium multinational enterprises offer an alternative to multinational corporations in African countries? Evidence from Nigeria

Promotion of private investment is a necessity for capital formation in African countries. Foreign private investment in particular, is considered to be a source of the scarce capital resources, valuable technological know-how and corporate norms and practices. However, given the political unpredictability, lack of sufficient infrastructures, inadequate human capital and local technological capacities in these countries, attracting foreign investors outside of the natural resources sector, especially multinational corporations, has been a troubling concern to the policy makers in the region. Using Nigeria as our case study, we attempt to answer the following two questions: Are the small and medium multinational enterprises (SMMEs) an alternative to the traditional larger multinational corporations (MNCs) that have eluded African countries? What are the motivations and investment characteristics of the SMMEs? We evaluate these issues using primary data.