Background

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) played a remarkable role in the development of many countries as they constitute a major part of the industrial activity both in developed or developing economies. Access to finance is vital for SMEs on their way to facilitating the creation of new business, innovation, employment generation and finally national economic growth. A number of studies have indicated that small businesses face considerable challenges in the process of achieving long-term external finance (Mason and Harrison, 2000). In the meantime, preference of the owners also determines the access to finance which is affected by different qualitative and quantitative factors even though list of sources are available.