Challenges affecting the growth of social enterprises in Nairobi county, Kenya

Abstract

The growth of social enterprises in Kenya has been constrained hence they have had limited impact on both the business sectors and the society. Thus the purpose of the study was to investigate challenges affecting the growth of social enterprises in Kenya with reference to Nairobi County. Specific objects of the study included examining the influence of financing, governance, strategy, entrepreneurial skills and regulation on the growth of social enterprises in Kenya. The study used survey research design while the target population was thirty six (36) respondents drawn from social enterprises in Nairobi County. The study used census sampling technique which involved taking the entire thirty six (36) respondents as a sample. The primary data for the study was collected using the questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using correlation and regression statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 21.0), while qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The study established that capital affect the growth of social enterprises,operation strategy affect the growth of social enterprise; entrepreneurial skill affect the growth of social enterprises; governance affects the growth of social enterprise and that government regulations affect the growth of social enterprises. The study recommends that social enterprises need to develop and implement business growth strategies so as to be able to effectively cope with business changes as they are easily affected even by smallest changes in the marketplace; to establish governance structure that fits social enterprises and tailored to enterprise needs; for management of social enterprises to leverage on social partners assistance, opportunities for training of staff in requisite specialized competencies and for the government to ensure a health trade-off between costs and benefits of regulation that promote enterprise growth