| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to cletennine the opportunities and challenges presented to Small
and Medium Enterprises by the Public Procurement and Disposal (Preference and Reservations)
Regulations, 2011 in Nairobi County. In the recent past there has been increasing interest among
many stakeholders 111public procurement. This interest has been aroused by the fact that the
government is the largest single buyer. Public procurement is not only a budget implementation
strategy tool but also used to achieve targeted social goals. A descriptive survey was adopted for
this study. The population of interest in this study was all small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
that are based in Nairobi County from which a sample of 310 firms was used. Primary data was
collected using structured questionnaires after which descriptive statistics was used as the
method of data analysis since some of the issues in the study involved perception. Generally, the
results of the study reveal that most enterprises identified insufficient capital, limited information
about public procurement and lack of transparency in the tendering processes as the major
challenges hindering their active involvement in public procurement. Entrepreneurs were of the
opinion that the government should establish an SME support bureau to support them while
pursuing business opportunities, public or otherwise. From the research findings it can be
concluded that the level of involvement of small and medium enterprises in public procurement
is low. It is recommended that the government establish SME support bureaus across the country
to not only sensitize and guide small and medium entrepreneurs on public procurement but to
also educate and assist on among other issues business registration and best business practices. | en_US |
