Ondo State has witnessed growth in digital financial inclusivity especially among the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs), therefore the need to determine whether the introduction of digital financial inclusion in the State has affected the growth of SMEs. The central objective of this study is therefore to assess the impact of digital financial inclusion on the growth of SMEs in Ondo State. In order to achieve this objective, the impact of digital financial accessibility, digital financial usage and digital financial service quality on sales growth, profit margin and customers’ growth were explored. In this study, a total of four hundred questionnaires were administered to the respondents who were SMEs owners/managers in Ondo State, the analysis was therefore conducted using 385 responses representing a response rate of 96.25%. The data collected were processed and analyzed using multiple linear regression through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v 26). The findings indicate that firstly: both digital financial usage and digital finance service quality have positive and significant impact on sales growth but digital financial accessibility showed otherwise. Secondly, that both digital financial accessibility and digital financial service quality have positive and significant impact on profit margin while digital financial usage indicate otherwise. Lastly, while digital financial usage showed negative and insignificant impact on customers’ growth both digital financial accessibility and digital financial service quality have positive and significant impact on customers’ growth. This study concludes that the digital financial inclusion of SMEs has led to the growth of the SMEs in Ondo State. This study therefore recommends business policymakers in Ondo State to adopt a comprehensive policy for digital financial inclusion in order to help the SMEs to develop and grow faster especially those in the rural areas.
Keywords: Digital, Financial Inclusion, Growth, SMEs
