Influence of managerial skills on growth of projects in Kenya: a case of Uwezo funded youth projects in Thika town

Abstract

The Kenyan Government has committed huge financial resources to the youths. Despite establishment of Uwezo fund, Kenyan youths are not utilizing the funds as it was projected by the government. A report by District Youth Officer in Thika indicates that twenty eight youth groups have taken up Uwezo fund amounting to Kshs 1,560,000 as at 31st December 2016. The total amount repaid as at 30th June 2017 was Kshs 631,890, translating to 40.71 % repayment rate. Only 18.5% of the youth groups have fully settled their loan, 81.5% of the youth groups have not yet fully settled their loan with 40.7% of the youth groups failing to pay any amount on the loan. High default rate and low repayment rate indicates that Youth projects are not running well in Thika. It is in this regard that this study assessed influence of managerial skills on growth of projects in Kenya. A case of Uwezo funded youth projects in Thika Town. The following objectives guided the study: To verify influence of leadership skills on growth of youth projects, to establish influence of marketing skills on growth of Uwezo funded youth projects, to assess the extent to which financial management skills influence growth of Uwezo funded youth projects and to verify the extent to which M & E skills influence growth of Uwezo funded youth projects. Descriptive survey design was employed for study. The study targeted 28 youth group projects funded under Uwezo Fund in Thika town. The sample had 162 respondents out of which 150 responded. Data was obtained using two instruments; Interview Schedule and Questionnaire. Quantitative data from interview schedule and questionnaire was analyzed by use inferential statistics and descriptive statistics while qualitative data was thematically analyzed based on specific objectives. From the study, it was noted that majority of the youths indicated not to have attended leadership course organized by Uwezo fund. This indicates that the course was organized after the beneficiaries had received the funding. Good leadership might have attributed by high number of the youths who had secondary school education and above. Most likely they were elected as leaders. The study indicated that youths faced challenges in marketing their They also faced challenges in repaying the loans due to lack of adequate financial management skills. They also carried out monitoring and evaluation of their projects though they had no clear framework. The study found that managerial skills have a positive influence on growth of Uwezo funded youth projects. The study recommends that before funding is done on a group, an elaborate and extensive training should be carried out in order to prepare youths in advance. The training of youths should focus on the following areas; Business management, market research, market strategies, monitoring and evaluation strategies and business leadership. An elaborate monitoring and evaluation framework of the fund should be set to ensure proper utilization of the fund and youths to taken through M & E training in order to establish a baseline against which to measure progress of their projects.