Factors Influencing The Growth Of Micro And Small Enterprises In Tigania East District, Kenya

Abstract

The aim of carrying out this study was to assess the factors that influenced the growth of micro and small enterprises in Tigania East District of Meru County. This was necessitated by the general stagnation in growth of these enterprises not only in the district, but also in Kenya and developing countries in general as several others related studies would show. The study’s objectives were an investigation of the influence of entrepreneurs’ access to affordable credit on the growth of Micro and Small Enterprises, the influence of availability of opportunities for gaining entrepreneurial experience on the growth of Micro and Small Enterprises, the influence of entrepreneurs’ level of education and training on the growth of Micro and Small Enterprises and the influence of gender equality among entrepreneurs on the growth of Micro and Small Enterprises in Tigania East district, Meru County. The study adopted descriptive research design and a total of 300 firms were sampled through a multi-stage sampling method for study. The study established that access to affordable credit and availability of firms where entrepreneurs could work and gain business experience contributed to growth of micro and small enterprises in Tigania East District. The study also established that formal education up to form Four Level and vocational trainings for entrepreneurs steered up firms’ growth in the district. Equally important is the availing of a leveled playing ground for all entrepreneurs irrespective of their gender for enterprises to grow in Tigania East District of Meru County. This study recommended that the government of Kenya increases the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Women Enterprise Development Fund that entrepreneurs found more affordable in comparison to credit from banks and other financial institutions. . The study also recommended that the government of Kenya needed to develops entrepreneurship and related business training programmes that target entrepreneurs irrespective of their level of education. This also study recommended that the government of Kenya and the civil organizations need to carry out a lot of gender sensitization in order to change the negative attitude towards women who should be equally engaged as important players in the micro and small enterprises as the study has linked the lack of growth of these enterprises to socio-cultural beliefs that disadvantage women entrepreneurs.