Factors Influencing Women Involvement in Entrepreneurship: the Case of Women Entrepreneurs in Matinyani Sub-county, Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement of women in entrepreneurship in Matinyani Sub- County, Kitui County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were; to determine how socio –cultural factors; how education and training and how adoption of Information Communication Technology influence involvement of women in entrepreneurship in Matinyani sub-County. This study applied a descriptive research which generally describes the characteristics of a particular situation, event or case. The study targeted 100 women entrepreneurs from Matinyani Sub-County, Kitui County. The Sub-County is found in Kitui West constituency. In this study a representative sample of 10% of the women entrepreneurs was selected randomly. Although a minimum of 30 respondents (Borg and Gall, 1996) is an adequate representative sample that is sufficient for statistical analysis, this study used a larger sample size. A structured questionnaire was used in this study. The questionnaires had open and closed ended items and a rating scale for collection of primary data. A research authorization permit was obtained from the District Educational Officer-Kitui West, to allow the study to be conducted in the district. Informed consent for participation was sought by asking for the respondent’s permission before administering the questionnaire to the sampled women entrepreneurs in the study. Questionnaires were administered personally with the help of two research assistants. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics that involved frequency distributions, percentages and average values. This research concluded that Cultural barriers had limited women from achieving their full potential and that training and education and adoption of ICT were opportunities in enhancing women entrepreneurship. It recommended training, capacity building, self motivation and adoption of ICT. The researcher suggested further studies on the role of devolution on boosting women involvement in entrepreneurship and importance of basic education and training in enhancing business productivity and all the relevant fields such as agriculture, basic manufacturing and value addition, service business, and their position to enhance women entrepreneurship.