Microfinance Interventions and Financial Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs in Eldama Ravine Sub-County in Baringo County, Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Tallam, Beatrice Bundotich | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-02-18T12:44:32Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-02-18T12:44:32Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-10 | |
| dc.description | A Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement of the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Finance Option) for Kenyatta University, October, 2025 Supervisor: 1.Ndede, F.W. S | |
| dc.description.abstract | Women's financial empowerment is one of the pillars for sustainable and inclusive development since women are at the center of community development, household welfare, and national production. Despite the increased microfinance operations in Kenya, women entrepreneurs have continued with restricted access to credit, weak savings facilities, and limited advisory and business development services. In Eldama Ravine Sub-County, such restrictions have prevented women-owned enterprises from flourishing and being self-sustaining, raising the question of whether previous microfinance interventions have been effective in translating into quantifiable improvements in terms of empowerment. The study took into account the effect of microfinance interventions by microcredit, microsavings, business development services (BDS), and advisory and consultancy (AC) services on financial empowerment among women entrepreneurs in Eldama Ravine Sub-County, Baringo County, Kenya. Guided by the Social Learning, Resource-Based, and Financial Systems theories, this research employed an explanatory research design with 735 registered women-owned businesses. Slovin's formula was utilized to calculate the sample size at 144 respondents and stratified random sampling for sector representation. Data were collected utilizing pre-tested structured questionnaires for validity and reliability, and analyzed utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. Normality, multicollinearity, and autocorrelation diagnostic tests confirmed model fitness, on a Durbin–Watson of 2.110 and good VIF values. Kenyatta University and NACOSTI ethical clearances were obtained, with informed consent and confidentiality maintained strictly. Findings indicated that microcredit (p=0.044), microsavings (p=0.018), business development services (p=0.023), and advisory and consultancy services (p<0.001) were significantly influential towards women's financial empowerment, and the four variables explained 51.8% of variance (R²=0.518). Advisory and consultancy services were the most significant determinant in empowering women to make financial decisions and sustain their businesses. The study concludes that microfinance intervention has played an important role in empowering women in Eldama Ravine Sub-County. It suggests that policymakers and microfinance institutions expand advisory and consultancy services, expand savings mobilization, and customize business development programs to accommodate rural women entrepreneurs. | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/32493 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Microfinance Interventions and Financial Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs in Eldama Ravine Sub-County in Baringo County, Kenya | |
| dc.type | Thesis |