Determinants of Small Business Ownership: a Case Study in the Informal Sector of Nairobi

Abstract

Economic hardship in Kenya has led to many reforms and the focusof public policy now is on poverty eradication. Micro-finance is widely seen as a tool for breaking the constellation of forces that make households desperate and keep them in a state of poverty. The majority (52%) of the Kenyan population according to 1989 population census are women. Most of these women are either unemployed or employed in informal sector enterprises. According to national medium and small size enterprise baseline survey of 1999, more men than women are employed in micro and small enterprises, as well as in other kinds of self employment. Historical experience has shown that rapid and sustained growth cannot be experienced without addressing the issue of poverty. Micro finance (the funds to finance small businesses) is vital for the informal sector as It caters for the disadvantaged in societywho if given a chance can generate a lot of wealth to uplift the ailing economy. We should resurrect the goose that lays the golden egg. That is, we should improve the productivity of the people, on whom the health of the economy depends.