Determinants of performance of small scale enterprises owned by women in informal settlements: a case of Mabatini village, Mathare slum in Nairobi county, Kenya By

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of performance of small scale enterprises owned by women in Mabatini village, Mathare slum. The objectives of the study were To examine how access to capital determines performance of small scale enterprises owned by women in informal settlements. To establish the influence of availability of markets on the performance of small scale enterprises owned by women in informal settlements. To examine how role conflict determines performance of small scale enterprises owned by women in informal settlements. To assess how levels of education determine performance of small scale enterprises owned by women in informal settlements. The research design that was used was cross sectional descriptive research design. It was chosen because it provides data on the entire population and allow the researcher to collect numerous information on the subjects of study at once. This research design was better than others because one can record data without manipulating it and will allow the researcher to compare many variables at the same time. The target population was women who own businesses in Mabatini village, Mathare slum with a sample size of 168 women. The sampling procedure that was employed was purposive sampling. This was used to identify the women who own businesses. Stratified sampling was used in the identification of the various businesses women engage in. The research instrument that was used was a questionnaire structured on the variables under study. The researcher used descriptive and multi variate and Regression Analysis. In conclusion, 89.3% of the respondents got their start-up capital from personal savings, households, friends and relatives, inheritance, NGOs, this implies that as much as credit is available, majority still cannot afford interest rates charged by banks and micro finance institutions, therefore, there is need to this affordable to enable small micro enterprises access credit. On access to markets,78% of the traders felt that use of technology would improve their business. Therefore, traders should join hands with MFIs so that these skills are imparted for their businesses to perform better. On role conflict, 55.3% of the respondents felt that having a family affected the performance of the business and being that 47.6% of the respondents solely take care of their families could further explain why the respondents felt that having a family affects the business due to time constraints. On levels of education, 69% of the respondents said they had books of accounts thus they were able to track on the performance of the business and 81.5% of the respondents agreed that using books of accounts can assist an entrepreneur track the performance of the business. The researcher recommends that to fight poverty in Kenya, the regulators of micro finance institutions should have a policy that will regulate the rate of interest charged as the women entrepreneurs felt that the interest rates were too high and hence most could not afford to take loans. Areas for further research would include a study that would establish the number of traders in the informal sector in the informal settlements. This could also be categorized per trade. Studies that would establish the trainings needs of traders of informal businesses so as to help improve performance of their businesses