Factors Contributing to the Growth of Cereals Enterprises Owned by Women in Meru County. A Survey of Enterprises in Nkubu Town

Abstract

Entrepreneurship growth practices are being witnessed in every country in response to changes in global competitiveness and advancement in technology. It is against this reason that this research was being undertaken to analyze factors inhibiting the growth of cereals enterprises owned by women in Nkubu Town in Meru County. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: To establish whether access to finance, access to infrastructure, and managerial capacity and entrepreneur innovation inhibiting the growth of cereals enterprises owned by women in Nkubu Town in Meru County. The study adopted descriptive research designs with owners of cereals enterprises owned by women in Nkubu Town in Meru County, Kenya104 owners, managers and employees being the target population. Stratified sampling was used in this study; self-administered questionnaires were used as data collection instruments. The questionnaires were pre-tested for reliability and validity. Qualitative and quantitative data was analyzed by the help of Statistical package for social Sciences software (SPSS) Version 23. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Inferential analysis entailed multiple regression and correlation analysis to assess the strength of the relationships between the specified variables. The result indicated that, collectively access to finance has the highest positive influence on enterprise growth, followed by entrepreneur innovation, managerial capacity and access to infrastructure. The study recommends that financial institutions should be in a position to give loans and other credit facilities and financial advisory services to SME’S in order to equip them with knowledge on financial management to help them expand their businesses.