The Effect of Entrepreneurial Training on Development of Small and Medium Size Enterprises in Githunguri District

Abstract

Entrepreneurship training has been found to be a major determinant in the growth and survival of enterprises. According to the human capital theory, investment in knowledge, skills and the abilities enhance the productive capacity of the individual. While the studies have shown mixed relationship between entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurial development, they never highlighted the effect of entrepreneurship training on the growth of enterprises. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of entrepreneurship training on the entrepreneurial development in Kenya. This was an exploratory research design. The target population was all the 1670 legally registered SMEs in Githunguri district. The study used simple random sampling in which 167 SMEs in Githunguri district were sampled. Data was collected using structured questionnaires which were on a five point Likert scale. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequency distribution, mean scores, and standard deviation. The presentation was done in a table. The study established that the enterprises had experienced some level of growth. Though most of the respondents have never received any training on entrepreneurship. The study further established that the entrepreneurs were able to market their products even though the entrepreneur had not received training. The results of the study revealed that the entrepreneurs were able to do daily book keeping of business transactions. However, most of the respondents were not able to prepare serious accounting practices such as profit and loss account or a balance sheet. This leads to the conclusion that even though the entrepreneur may be reporting an increase in sales and profits, and may seem to be registering growth, lack of training on financial, strategic management and marketing will mean that the SME will not grow from the first stage (existence) to other stages such as survival, success, take off and resource maturity and will hence eventually fail within its first five years of existence. The study recommended that the government through the Ministry of Trade should have training programs aimed at equipping SME owners with entrepreneurial skills.