Covid 19 Government Strategic Interventions and Performance of the Small and Medium Enterprises in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

This study was aimed at looking into the effect of COVID 19 government strategic interventions on the performance of SMEs in Kenya, with a particular focus on Nairobi City County. The study provides early evidence of how the COVID 19 interventions put in place by the government have affected the performance of SMEs in Nairobi. The aim was to find out how entrepreneurial training, entrepreneurial financing, business licensing and taxation measures have affected the performance SMEs during the pandemic period. Using a descriptive research design, the researcher collected data from 100 SMEs in Nairobi using questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established statistically significant positive correlation between the dependent variable (SMEs performance) and the independent variable (government strategic intervention) which was represented by entrepreneurial training, entrepreneurial financing, licensing and taxation measures. All the independent variables had a significant p-value at the 0.05 level. The study concluded that entrepreneurial training, entrepreneurial financing, taxation, and company licensing, according to the study, have a significant impact on the success of SMEs and thus, for a better performance of SMEs during the pandemic period, the government strategic interventions ought to be well established and implemented in a manner that will prove to be supportive to the businesses.