ENTREPRENEURIAL INTERVENTION AND THE GROWTH OF WOMEN OWNED SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN RURAL KENYA ‘A CASE OF SMES IN KITUI TOWN’
Abstract
Women owned enterprises play a very vital role in the Kenyan economic growth. They provide an inexhaustible source of employment, income generation, and act as the breeding ground for small and medium enterprises. Women owned enterprises face growth intervention challenges in the rural Kenya. These include access to business finance, access business development services, economic groupings and Government policies. The research focused on the Entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of women owned small and medium enterprises in rural Kenya. The objectives that guided the study were; To establish whether accessibility to businesses finance affects the growth of women owned enterprises in rural Kenya, to investigate whether accessibility to business development services affects the growth of women owned enterprises in rural Kenya, to find out whether Social economic groupings affects the growth of women owned enterprises in rural Kenya and to assess whether Government policies affects the growth of women owned enterprises in rural Kenya. The study was anchored on financial capital theory, human capital theory, and social network theory. The researcher adapted descriptive research designs to conduct the research. Stratified sampling technique was also used to select the sample size for the study. The target population was 1300 women entrepreneurs operating diverse registered enterprises in Kitui municipality. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 222 respondents. A pilot study of 22 respondents was carried out to test the research instruments. Data was collected using structured questionnaires through drop and pick method. Data was corded and subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics analysis using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Studies). Descriptive data analysis was done to summarize the data. The regression model was used to test the relationship between the variables. The multiple regression analysis results with the four variables which showed that they all affected the growth of women owned SMEs. The study therefore established that there is a great need for Women owned SMEs to consider the four interventions which can boost the growth of their enterprises. The study recommended that the government should sensitize women SMEs owners in the rural area on the sources of business finance, benefits of business development services, ways of building their enterprise regardless of their socio economic groupings, and how Government policies will enhance the growth of their businesses.
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