The connection between trade credit and SMEs cannot be belittled which enable this study to examine the impact of trade credit on small and medium enterprises using Nigeria as a case study. The study employed frequency analysis, logistic regression and correlation analysis as the estimation techniques. The study found that cost of trade credit has a coefficient value of 0.036, standard error of 0.093, with the sig value of 0.701, indicating that cost of trade credit is positively important, but it is not significantly accessible to the SMEs. More so, credit flexibility has the coefficient value of 0.018, standard error of 0.091 with the sig value of 0.846, indicating that credit flexibility has a positive impact but not significant to influence SMEs. The study concluded that cost of trade credit affects SMEs, and credit flexibility has a positive impact on SMEs, while credit grant revealed a positive effect on the performance of SMEs, though government restriction has a negative impact on SMEs but not significant during the study period.
Keywords: Business, Loan, SMEs, and government restriction, trade credit