ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESS ENTERPRISES IN KAJIADO COUNTY, KENYA
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESS ENTERPRISES IN KAJIADO COUNTY, KENYA
Michael Nzuka Musyimi - Master of Business Administration (Entrepreneurship), Kenyatta University, Kenya
Evans Mwasiaji (PhD) - Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Studies have variously reported that even though small and medium enterprises are critical for economic development, they face numerous challenges especially in their initial stages after inception. Most of these businesses fail to make it to their fifth year of operation mainly due to insufficient entrepreneurship competencies. Extant studies have therefore concluded that entrepreneurship education is an important ingredient towards the development of requisite skills set and the resultant enhanced business performance. However, most of the existing studies were either based on secondary literature, examined financial performance indicators alone, or have a narrow scope and small sample size. Thus the current study that sought to establish the influence of entrepreneurship education, with specific reference to training need assessment, mode of delivery and training content, on the performance of small and medium business enterprises in Kajiado County, Kenya. The training needs assessment model, knowledge-based view of the firm, and competence-based view formed the theoretical foundation, while descriptive research design was chosen in line with the general objective for this study. The unit of analysis was 180 SMEs, while the unit of observation was 121 entrepreneurs and senior executives selected using cluster sampling from five divisions. A semi-structured data collection tool was used to generate qualitative and quantitative data in line with the specific objectives of the study. Data was analyses using descriptive statistics and results presented through percentages, tables and graphs. This study with a 68% response rate, established that entrepreneurship education has a significant influence on the performance of small and medium enterprises. The position taken by this study therefore is that entrepreneurship education is not only critical in acquisition of relevant entrepreneurial competencies for enhanced performance, but also in the creation of entrepreneurial culture and realization of economic development. There is need therefore for the County Government in Kajiado to put in place a policy and regulatory framework that can enable entrepreneurs and other players in the entrepreneurship ecosystem to not only network and create entrepreneurial communities for mentorship, but also to access relevant training to enhance their competencies. There is also need for the county government to champion creation of a symbiotic and self-sustaining relationship between entrepreneurs and institutions of higher learning. The expected study output upon successful implementation of the given recommendations is enhanced performance of small and medium business enterprises in Kajiado County, Kenya.
