INFLUENCE OF SELECTED FACTORS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUTH OWNED ENTERPRISES IN NAKURU MUNICIPALITY, KENYA

Abstract

Youth entrepreneurship is paramount in creating employment opportunities, generating income and alleviating poverty in Kenya. Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) employ 14.9 million persons in Kenya. The government of Kenya came up with institutional financing mechanisms like the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) and UWEZO fund to provide youth in Kenya with access to finance for self-employment in small and micro activities and entrepreneurial skill development. However, numerous youth-owned micro and small enterprises continue to close shop in less than five years of establishment. This study aimed to determine the influence of socio-demographic factors, sources of business capital, type of training and type of market research on the performance of youth-owned enterprises in Nakuru Municipality. The Neoclassical Analysis Theory guided this study. This study adopted a predictive correlational research design to determine whether there were predictive relationships between independent variables (socio-demographic factors, sources of business capital, type of training, and type of market research) and dependent variables (performance of youth-owned enterprises). The target population was 8312 youth-owned enterprises in Nakuru Municipality registered with the County Council of Nakuru. Ronda, Central Business District, Kaptembwo, Lanet and Shabab host a quarter (25%) of all the youth-owned enterprises (2,076) in Nakuru Municipality and these were chosen as the accessible population of the study. The sample size of 145 youth-owned enterprises was selected from the 2,076 youth enterprises in the five estates using the formula by Creswell. Data was collected using a questionnaire piloted at Njoro Town to ascertain its reliability. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient for the data collection instrument was found to be 0.769, which was above the threshold value of 0.7. Data were analysed using inferential statistics, particularly multiple regression analysis. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 26) aided data analysis. The study established that the socio-demographic, type of enterprise training, sources of business capital, and type of market research were significant predictors of the performance of youth-owned enterprises in Nakuru Municipality (R² = 0.1117, F = 6.19, p < 0.05), (R² = 0.0838, F = 8.2, p < 0. 05), (R² = 0.1205, F = 4.79, p < 0.05) and (R² = 0.0608, F = 4.59, p < 0.05) respectively. The study's findings could inform policymakers in national and county governments concerning the implications of socio-demographic factors, entrepreneurship skills, access to financial services, and market research on the performance of youth-owned enterprises countrywide.