Olopade, John O., Kazeem, Gbenga A. & 2taiwo, Funke R.

financial markets, the attitude of most of the deposit money banks, plus improper documentations by SMEs to access credit .This situation limits the opportunity of SMEs to obtain loans for their development, sustainable growth and poverty reduction. Therefore, the study examined at the relationship between Nigerian small- and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) financing and reducing poverty. The study used a structured questionnaire and a survey research design. The population for the study are selected small and medium scale enterprise in Abeokuta Ogun state with the total population of 2,862.Acording to SMEDAN as at May (2023).The study adopted a Krejcie and Morgan Model (1970) sample determination formula to select the sample of (343) respondents. The findings of the study revealed that there is positive relationship between the dimensions of SMEs financing(i.e. SMEs Bank Lending, Credit Guarantee Schemes, Venture Capital and Private Equity Investments, and Government Support Programs) and poverty reduction with regression and correlation values of (0.765,0 .787, 0.76, and 0.771) respectively. The study conclude that small and medium enterprises financing has a significant relationship with poverty reduction in Nigeria, while unemployment has a strong negative relationship with poverty in Nigeria thus adequate SMEs financing will create and sustained SME sand this will later create more sustainable jobs and drastically reduced poverty. The study therefore, recommends that the government should as a matter of urgency diversify the economy and creates more jobs for the increasing population to reduce the unemployment rate in the country. This would go a long way to reduce poverty, and reduce crime rate in Nigeria. Keywords: Small and medium enterprises financing, poverty reduction, and Job creation0150