Factors Influencing Uptake Of Youth Enterprise Development Fund Loans In Tambach Ward, Keiyo North Constituency, Elgeyo Marakwet County Kenya

Abstract

The youth represents an important segment of Kenya’s population. Consistent with the population growth rate, the youth population has been increasing over time. The youth aged between 15 to 34 years account for about 37% of the Kenyan population (KNBS 2009). Youth face a myriad of challenges, key among them being unemployment, lack of professional skills demanded by the job market, high dependency levels that lead to slow economic growth and increasing poverty levels. In order to address the increasing unemployment among the youth in Kenya, the Government of Kenya established Youth Enterprise Development Fund(YEDF).The fund is revolving scheme which is meant to provide loans to youth enterprises. While the government has disbursed over Ksh 5.96 billion, the fund still experiences low uptake of loans especially in Arid and Semi- Arid Lands like Tambach ward, ElgeyoMarakwet County. The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that influence uptake of Youth Enterprise Development Fund loans in Tambach ward. The study objectives were: to examine the influence of awareness of youth on uptake of fund loans; to establish the influence of entrepreneurial education on uptake of fund loans, to assess the influence of youth attitude towards entrepreneurship on uptake of fund loans and to establish the influence of lending framework on uptake of fund loans. The study sought to answer the research questions: how youth awareness influence uptake of fund loans, how does entrepreneurial education influence uptake of fund loans, howdo youth attitudes towards entrepreneurship influence uptake of fund loans and how does lending framework influence uptake of fund loans in Tambach ward, Keiyo North constituency. The study was guided by theoretical framework of process driven theory which asserts that behavior is greatly influenced by one’s intention to engage in that behavior and intentions are influenced by attitudes towards the behaviour.The study used a descriptive survey design. The target population was the youth in groups which have benefitted from the YEDF and those who have not. Random sampling was used to get the sample size of 260 youth group members from a population of 840 youth drawn from 70youth groups in Tambach ward and 2 Constituency Fund Officers. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in aid of SPSS and presented in tables. The findings of the study indicate that majority of the youth groups composed of males of between18 and 35 years168(76%) who had completed secondary level of education. The findings indicate that the youth were not aware of youth fund, but they had inadequate trainings in entrepreneurship which is necessary for utilization of funds. Findings reveal that awareness level was at 100 (45.5%) of youth, mostly through friends 60 (60%). 77 (35%) of the youth felt that entrepreneurship training was important in uptake of youth fund. There was positive attitude towards entrepreneurship and there was willingness to start business an indication youths willing to take loans in future. The lending framework played a role in uptake of youth fund. The study found that provision of continuous and relevant business development services to youth was vital to the success of enterprise development initiatives in enhancing sustainability. The study recommended that there is need for Youth Enterprise Development Fund to encourage the youth to get loans from them by easing the procedures followed for them to access funds and equip youth entrepreneurial skill and business management skills to help them make informed decisions on the business that are viable for their groups. There needs to be more sensitizations to encourage youth to join groups and also to form their own groups.