Entrepreneurship Education and Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kajiado County, Kenya.

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Date
2023-10
Authors
Musyimi, Michael Nzuka
Journal Title
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Studies have variously reported that even though small and medium enterprises are critical for economic development, they face numerous challenges in their initial stages of operation due to mainly insufficient knowledge and training in entrepreneurship. Extant studies have concluded that entrepreneurship education is therefore an important ingredient towards the development of requisite entrepreneurial competencies and the resultant enhanced organizational performance. Thus current study therefore sought to establish the influence of entrepreneurship education, specifically 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 12,715 small and medium enterprises, while the unit of observation was 121 entrepreneurs. A semi-structured data collection tool was used in gathering both qualitative and quantitative data in line with the specific objectives of the study. Data was analyzed 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, but also in the creation of entrepreneurial culture and realization of balanced 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.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship, Kenyatta University, October, 2023
Keywords
Entrepreneurship Education, Performance, Small and Medium Enterprises, Kajiado County, Kenya
Citation