Global Journal of Commerce & Management Perspective
Open Access

Abstract

The Impact of Socio-economic Factors on the Performance of Small and Medium Size Enterprises: The Case Study of Kericho County, Kenya

Joseph Rotich, Dr. Peter Cheruiyot and Charles Yegon

The Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) sector plays an important role in income and employment generation as well as poverty alleviation. As such, the study investigated the extent to which the socioeconomic characteristics of women influenced the performance of their Micro and Small Enterprises in Kericho County, Kenya. Small enterprises play a vital role in economic development as they can provide the economy with efficiency, innovation, competition and employment. Entrepreneurs are responsible for the performance of their businesses and have to face up with definite challenges in doing so. To know what constitute critical determinants of small business performance data were collected from 60 randomly selected respondents in the Kericho County, Kenya, who were administered with structured questionnaires. Regression analyses of the findings showed the positive and significant impact factors of investment, entrepreneurial experience, business profile and culture with R 2 =0.638 and F= 11.222. The provision of ample opportunities to develop skills for business enhancement is suggested as the rational way forward.