Savings Mobilization for Growth of Women-Owned Entrepreneurial Ventures in Kenya (An Empirical Review of the Constraining Factors)

Abstract

This study examined internal factors t hat affect savings mobilization for growth of women - owned MSEs. Many women - owned MSEs have received financial and other assistance from various donors to start their business, but their inability to reduce reliance on external sources to grow had remaine d unexplained. The study hypothesized that the main constraints to savings mobilization for growth of women owned MSEs arose from internal and the characteristics of the woman entrepreneurs. The target population were 3,030 women entrepreneurs who had rece ived assistance from the WEDCO project in Kisumu and Kakamega districts in Kenya. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 300 individual women participants. Questionnaires, interviews and observations were used to collect primary data. Data was an alyzed through correlation analysis, chi - square tests, ANOVA, and means. The major findings of the study were that the number of dependants; education level; cultural and religious attachments; endowed management skills; age and marital status had a signif icant relationship with the savings propensity amongst the women entrepreneurs