| dc.description.abstract | Unemployment is a critical issue in developing countries. Besides, the great numbers of those
who depend on the few earners, majority of the young people who are unemployed are kept on
the very brink of misery and starvation. Unemployment leads to poverty and provides sanctuaries
for deviant patterns of social behavior among the young people, such as the rise of crime in the
country. However a close look at the allocated resources the Kenya government has set aside, to
set-up youth enterprise development indicates most beneficiary youths have not lived up to the
government initiative. The youth projects are incapable of maintaining themselves for a long
period of time. The purpose of the research study was to investigate factors influencing
sustainability of youth group projects funded by Youth Enterprise Development Fund in
Chepalungu Sub County, Bomet County, Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives; one
of the objectives was to assess the extent to which entrepreneurial skills among the youth
influence sustainability of youth group projects. The study was guided by four research
questions; one of the research questions was to find out how group leadership influences
sustainability of youth group projects. Theoretical framework of the study was based on two
theories; David McClelland’s achievement theory of 1961 and Joseph Schumpeter’s
entrepreneurship theory of 1948. Descriptive survey was used as the research design of the study.
Descriptive survey design was considered suitable as it allows an in depth study by capturing
both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population was 142 youth group projects
funded in the last three years. The sample size was 30% of the target population, (Mugenda &
Mugenda, 2003). The sampling procedure applied stratified random sampling to select
respondents for the study. This is because the youth groups undertake different economic
activities hence the need to segregate them into categories they are involved in. For accurate
representation 30% of the target group i.e. 43 sampled youth groups were purposively picked to
represent the study. Research instruments of the study were questionnaires, observation and
interview schedule. The researcher conducted a pre-test of the study by administering the
questionnaires in Sotik Sub County, a different area from the location of study. The sample for
the pre-test was 43 respondents who are 10% of the total target population. The validity of
research instruments (both construct and content validity) was addressed through input of the
supervisor, and peer review before embarking on data collection. Data analysis for the study was
presented by use of statistics in percentages and frequencies. The findings from the study
established that entrepreneurship skills, group leadership, internal controls and level of education
influence sustainability of youth group projects. Based on the findings, conclusion and
recommendation to various stakeholders were suggested. These findings will be helpful to make
recommendations on policy formulation and interventions on youth empowerment. Some of the
recommendations include; entrepreneurship lessons be introduced in secondary school education
curriculum in order to instill a sense of entrepreneurship among the students, training component
should be part and parcel of all government funding to the youth, finally, a consideration on the
age, gender, leadership position, level of education and duration of existence of members in
groups when registering youth groups. | en_US |
