Effects of cultural practices on growth of entrepreneurship amongst the Mijikenda community in Kwale County

Abstract

The research sought to study the effects of cultural beliefs and practices on the growth of entrepreneurship amongst the Mijikenda community in Kwale County. The Mijikenda community is a Kenyan coastal Bantu tribe that consists of nine closely related sub tribes. Entrepreneurship has been widely accepted as an engine of economic growth and innovation. The study sought to find out how cultural practices affect property ownership amongst the Mijikenda communities in Kwale County and consequently affecting growth of entrepreneurship, to establish the effect of cultural practice on infrastructure accessibility on growth of entrepreneurship amongst the Mijikenda communities in Kwale County, to describe the extent of cultural practice of witchcraft affect growth of entrepreneurship amongst the Mijikenda communities in Kwale County, to determine the effects of cultural practice of early marriages on growth of entrepreneurship amongst the Mijikenda communities in Kwale County, and lastly to determine the effects of cultural practice of gender on growth of entrepreneurship amongst the Mijikenda communities in Kwale County. The target population was the Mijikenda community in Mwaluphamba and Mkongani Locations, Kwale county. The sample for the study was done by snowballing and consisted of 90 respondents who were the entrepreneurs or owners of the enterprises. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and with the help of the SPSS computer package, the data was presented in bar charts and pie charts. The study found that cultural practices amongst the Mijikenda community in Kwale County do affect growth of enterprises. Emanating from the data analysis, interpretation and findings, the research came up with a number of recommendations. These recommendations are expected to assist the Government, Non Governmental organizations, financial institutions, employers, community and the entrepreneurs themselves. The Government through the Ministry of trade should hold seminars to sensitize the entrepreneurs on various business opportunities. The Ministry of Youth, culture and social services should seize every opportunity whenever they meet with the youth or women to educate them on the need to embrace contemporary ideas and discard cultural practices which hinder the growth of their businesses as shown in this study. Religious organizations should preach against strong beliefs in witchcraft and concentrate instead on business growth. Financial institutions should create awareness on lending procedures.