Socio-economic factors influencing sustainability of women income generating group projects in Mogotio sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya vision 2030 has various projects with women enterprise fund. This aims to provide Kenyan women with access to alternative financial services through establishment of small and medium enterprises. The women enterprise funds provide loans to 170,307 women across the country. During 2011/.20122 financial year and since its inception of 2007/.2008 the total of 484,245 women received loans in order to improve their projects and sustain the society and family welfare. Kenya is on track in achieving some of its third millennium development goals which underscore gender parity especially in Education and political opportunities by 2015 hence women generating projects on sustainability refers to a group of women who come together and start activities like bee keeping which was to help them sustain and improve their living standards The study was set to examine the factors influencing sustainability of women generating group projects in Mogotio District. Mogotio has encountered a lot of problems for the last ten years from 2002 up to date. This involves drought, floods and spread of HIV/AIDS, which has caused havoc in the district.Thus through the self help-group projects and women non governmental organizations [W.N.G.O] has been established in order to sustain the community. Therefore the purpose of the study was to examine the factors influencing women income generating activities like bee keeping. The study was carried out among one of the chosen group projects known as ‘Rachemo’ bee keepers in Mogotio District. The objectives were to examine the socio-economic factors influencing level of Education, financial management, gender roles and political interference. The study uses descriptive survey design and Probability sampling technique in the selection of the study sample. The researcher used questionnaire, focus group discussion and interviewer schedule to data collection in a sample of (36) subjects from a population of (80) the data collection was analyzed with the aid of statistical package of social science and micro soft excel software. The result was to be in form of tables. The study was to reveal that the key challenges hindering women group’s projects are due to lack of finance and how finance should be sustained in projects. Thus the study was to also reveal how the government and other non-governmental organizations interfere with women group’s projects in terms of decision making, whereby women are discriminated and not given any authority to suggest any proposal especially in terms of finance.