Characteristics of Owners of Business on Strategic Access to Credit Facilities by Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Charles Mwirigi ,Roselyn Wangari Gakure ,Romanus Odhiambo Otieno

doi:10.14738/assrj.61.5954

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to establish the characteristics of owners of Business on strategic access to credit facilities by Women owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study adopted a descriptive research design guided by cross sectional survey. The target population was drawn from women owned enterprises specifically owners of businesses in Nairobi, Kenya. A sample of 370 was derived from the population. A pilot will be conducted to ascertain the validity and reliability of the instrument. Data collected from the respondents was captured in SPSS version 24 and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics (correlation analysis and multiple regressions) to establish hypothesized relationships between the variables. The results were presented in form of tables, graphs, charts, means, standard deviations, t and f statistics. The findings of the study revealed that characteristics of business owners, collateral, networking and interest rates statistically and significantly predicts the Strategic access to credit SMEs owned by women (i.e., the regression model is a good fit of the data) and that interest rates significantly influence the Strategic access to credit SMEs owned by women in Kenya.

Highlights

The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owned by women are acknowledged as the engines through which the growth objectives of the developing countries can be achieved
The period the business has been in operation influences the decision of financial institutions to give credit, the decisions of financial institutions to give credit are influenced by the nature of activities undertaken by every entity, one of the major factors considered by financial institutions before they give credit is organizational structure, financial institutions always consider CRB reports of the business owners before they give credit, the level of experience of the managers has been a major determinant of credit access by women owned businesses and profitability level is a major determinant of credit access
The study findings showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between characteristics of owners of business and strategic access to credit ((ß=0.208, pvalue=0.000

Summary

Introduction

The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owned by women are acknowledged as the engines through which the growth objectives of the developing countries can be achieved. Despite their potential to create employment, create wealth and develop innovation in many developing countries, women owned SMEs encounter various problems and as a result many perform dismally and fail to grow (1). Such problems include inability to access credit from financial institutions. A study by (6) asserts that in Kenya is hindered by numerous factors such as low levels of education, high interest rates, low business incomes and many other socio-cultural aspects that put women in lower status in the society compared to men as far as operation of the businesses is concerned.

Objectives

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion