Strategic planning in investment groups(CHAMA) in Nairobi County

Abstract

Strategy planning articulates where an organization is going, how it will get there and the actions needed to make progress. It clearly defines the purpose of the organization and establishes realistic goals and objectives consistent with the mission which can be clearly communicated to constituents. Investment groups in Kenya have grown from being welfare groups to being investment groups intent on creating wealth from pooled resources. As such, proper management and strategic planning are crucial to ensure success. This study sought to examine the strategy planning practices of investment groups in Nairobi County. The study analyzed the degree to which these investment groups have embraced the concept of strategy planning and in particular how they have approached it. A survey was done on youth investment groups in Nairobi County to investigate what their strategy planning practices was like. The respondents were selected through simple random sampling and the data collection was done by use of questionnaires. The data collected was quantitative in nature and was analyzed using descriptive analysis. The study found that strategy planning has not been embraced by most of the Investment groups. While most of the investment groups have a strategic vision, they lacked the plan on how to attain it. Various challenges have caused the investment groups to fail in strategy planning; a key challenge was established to be the lack of knowledge or expertise in developing a strategic plan. The study therefore recommends that the policy makers such as the government’s UWEZO fund and umbrella bodies such as Kenya Association of Investment Groups facilitate training programs and forums to educate the members of these groups on the concept and importance of strategy planning. This will enable the investment groups to better manage their groups and enable them to reach their goals. While this study focused on the Investment groups in Nairobi County, further research can be carried out on Investment groups in other parts of the country and also on policy developers such as the Uwezo fund or Kenya Association of Investment Groups.