| dc.description.abstract | Social entrepreneurship is a variation of entrepreneurship with the social mission
explicit and central to its objective. The impact on society, rather than wealth creation
is the primary aspiration. Social enterprises are emerging to be the most ideal avenues
for community development and empowerment. These organizations address a myriad
of issues ranging from physical needs to social development. As the Non Profit
Organizations’ inclination changes from ‘hand-outs’ to ‘self- sustenance’, the social
enterprises have emerged as ideal means of facilitating this shift, being dominated by
Faith-Based Organizations. In Kenya, as reflected in the African continent, 40 to 50%
of all the health and education services are provided by Faith Based Organizations
(FBO). The scenario is truer in Kajiado County, the area of study, where numerous
FBOs are partnering and addressing a myriad of social issues. The objective of this
study was to determine the influence of social entrepreneurship strategies used by the
faith based organizations on community empowerment. The study adopted descriptive
survey approach where the target populations comprised of 85 key faith based
organizations registered in Kajiado County. Simple random sampling was used to
select a sample of 42, half of the population. Questionnaires were dropped and later
collected from these organizations. Collected data was analyzed using descriptive
statistics, correlation and regression statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings were discussed and presented using tables and
models. Study findings indicated a significant relationship between the social
entrepreneurship strategies; community organization, community development and
community service provision, and community empowerment. From the study finding
the following recommendations were made; the social enterprises need to develop
business growth strategies and governance structures that will reinforce the
underlying goal of community empowerment. The government to create a framework
that will facilitate effectiveness of social enterprises while mitigating potential costs
and problems of formation and regulations.
KEY WORDS: Empowerment, Social Entrepreneurship, Community Organizing,
Community-based Development | en_US |
