Project Financing and Performance of Self-Help Group Projects in Nyeri County, Kenya

Abstract

Project management practices are widely considered to be the backbone behind the performance of successful projects. Self-help group organizations face a challenge in financing project activities due to the poor track record of successful projects. The study’s goal was to establish the effects of project financing on the performance of self-help groups’ projects in Nyeri County. This inquiry was steered by the following goals, how stakeholder financing, project financial planning, type of financing, availability of financing and financial skills influence the performance of self-help group projects. The study was grounded on stakeholder theory, resource dependency theory, and institutional theory. Descriptive research design and explanatory design were adopted where both qualitative and quantitative methods of data gathering were applied. The targeted population for the study was the participants of 3800 self-help groups in Nyeri County which are formally funded. The sample size consisted of 362 members of self-help groups and community projects, Nyeri County. Stratified sampling was used to choose the self-help groups while simple random sampling technique was employed to select the members within the self-help groups. The tools of data collection were questionnaires and interview schedules. Data was analysed with the help of the statistical software for social sciences. Categories of the specific question responses were translated by the use of coding. Coding was used to condense research data into feasible summaries. In this study, descriptive statistics were employed to investigate quantitative data. Descriptive statistics deployed encompassed mean score, standard deviation, minimum, and maximum values to characterise the data while qualitative data was analysed using a content analysis method. Presentation of the analysed data was done using tables. The study found that stakeholder financing, project financial planning, types of financing, availability of financing, and financial skills are statistically significant in influencing performance of SHGs projects. There, the study concluded that stakeholder financing, project financial planning, types of financing, availability of financing, and financial skills positively influenced performance of SHGs projects in Nyeri County. The study recommends that the SHGs should involve the stakeholders in their project financing activities. The stakeholders’ opinions are important in regard to financing hence this would improve project performance. The study also recommended that the SHGs should continuously evaluate the types of financing available. This would help them to choose the most appropriate to achieve better performance of their projects. The SHGs should also have knowledge on the availability of financing so that they can finish their projects within the scheduled time. It is also recommends that the SHGs should improve the financial skills of their members. This can be done by providing training and also getting support from external partners so that they learn things like financial management. This would improve their financial skills and they would be able to set an appropriate budget for projects.