Influence of Credit Access and Growth of Youth Owned Enterprises in Homa-Bay Town Constituency, Homa-Bay County
- July 29, 2021
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: Entrepreneurship, IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VI, June 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Akuma Joan Moraa1 and Moses Otieno Kola2
1Enterpreneur, The Cake Forest Enterprises Ltd. (Off Homa-Bay-Mbita Junction Kodoyo),
P. O. Box 587-40300, Homa-Bay, Kenya),
2Dean, School of Planning & Architecture(P.O. Box 3275-40100, Kisumu, Kenya),
Abstract: Specifically tailored to enhance youth development with focus on self-employment through entrepreneurship, the youth enterprise development fund programmes activities that enhance knowledge, skills and attitudes to entrepreneurship in Kenya. In Homa-Bay Town Constituency, little has been however known about the extent to which this initiative has contributed to performance of youth owned enterprises. Purpose of the study was to assess influence of credit access and growth of youth owned enterprises in Homa-Bay Town Constituency. The study was guided by three research objectives; investigate influence of credit access by youth on the performance of youth owned enterprises, examine effect of entrepreneurial skills and business skills development on the growth of youth owned enterprises, establish the role of the fund in marketing and growth of youth owned enterprises in Homa-Bay Town Constituency conducted a bay and town on the south shore of Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. The constituency in Homa-Bay County, performs below the national average of 0.56 on most socio-economic indicators; 0.46 on the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure of development that combines indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income. A descriptive research design that adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used. The study targeted youth entrepreneurs and financial intermediaries. Total population of registered youth entrepreneurs in Homa-Bay Town Constituency was not known. Hence snowball sampling was used whereby initial subjects with desired characteristics were identified using purposeful sampling technique. Identified subjects named others that they knew who had similar characteristics until the researcher got the required number of cases required. A sample frame was drawn from youth entrepreneurs who operated registered businesses and were beneficiaries of formal and enterprise financing. Self administered semi-structured questionnaires and Key Informant Interviews Guides were used to collect quantitative data and qualitative data respectively. Study instruments were pre-tested and appropriate changes made before commencement of data collection, a pilot study was similarly be done. Reliability and validity of data collection tools was ensured. Chi square test was used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data was organized into patterns and themes and triangulated with quantitative data. Findings revealed that the fund was accessible but youth faced regulatory challenges which affected their enterprises. Youth entrepreneurship trainings were mostly done by banks and non-governmental organizations, youth enterprise development fund did the least number of trainings. Marketing limitations were experienced by small-medium enterprises. Study findings recommended conducive business environments, adequate government regulation and intensification youth entrepreneurship.
I.INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is seen as a transformational driver offering the scaffolding for both attaining and delivering the sustainable development goals (SDGs) whilst fuelling economic growth led by the principle of sustainable development (Apostolopoulos et al., 2018). Globally, the most frequent source of funding is an entrepreneur’s own investment, followed by government programmes, donations or grants (Bosma et al., 2016). Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are generally less likely to obtain bank loans than larger firms.
