Theses and Dissertations

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    Perceptions of agency banking, financial literacy, and Financial inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bungoma county, Kenya.
    (Kca University, 2025) Katiech, Blasio J.
    The main aim of the study was to examine the relationship between small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) perceptions of agency banking, financial literacy, and financial inclusion in Bungoma County, Kenya. The general objective was to assess how agency banking and financial literacy influence SMEs’ financial inclusion. The study was guided by five specific objectives: to examine the effect of agency banking perceived accessibility on financial inclusion, to determine the effect of perceived cost of agency banking services on financial inclusion, to establish perceived liquidity of agency banking on financial inclusion of SMEs, assessing the effect of perceived security of agency banking services on financial inclusion, and examining the role of financial literacy in influencing financial inclusion of SMEs in Bungoma County. A descriptive research design was adopted, and primary data was collected from SMEs owners and managers using structured questionnaires. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research questionnaire. The target population was 22,450 SMEs, of which a sample of 393 respondents was selected through cluster and stratified random sampling. 357 usable questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 90.8%. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. SPSS software version 26 was used for data analysis. All five null hypotheses were rejected, indicating that agency banking dimensions and financial literacy both independently and interactively significantly influence the financial inclusion of SMEs in Bungoma County. Overall, the study concludes that financial inclusion among SMEs in Bungoma County is largely shaped by agency accessibility, liquidity, cost of services, security, and financial literacy, while the role of cost remains marginal. The study recommends strengthening liquidity management, enhancing security measures, expanding accessibility of agency outlets, rationalizing transaction costs, and promoting continuous financial literacy programs for SMEs to deepen financial inclusion in the county.
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    Effect of financial development initiatives on growth of small and medium agribusiness enterprises in Machakos county, Kenya
    (KCA University, 2025) Kelu, Joshua K.
    Researchers and scholars have concluded that Small and medium-scale agribusiness enterprises (Agribusiness SMEs) play a crucial role in driving food security and economic growth, both in developed and developing economies. However, the growth of Agribusiness SMEs in developing countries, especially Africa, faces significant hurdles due to finance-related challenges, among other challenges. This study aimed to investigate the effect of financial development initiatives on the growth of Agribusiness SMEs in Machakos County. The study’s specific objectives were: to investigate the effect of access to finance, pooling and mobilization of savings and capital allocation on the growth of agribusiness SMEs in Machakos County. The study was guided by the credit rationing theory, the neo-classical theory of a firm and the financial intermediation theory. The study’s target population consisted of all the 7,882 licenced agribusiness SMEs in Machakos County. Data was collected from a sample of 380 agribusiness SMEs owners or managers. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the demographic characteristics of the respondents and their perspectives regarding financial development initiatives and the growth of their enterprises. Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Regression analysis was used to determine the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable. From the analysis, access to credit had a strong positive correlation with growth (r = 0.549, p < 0.001). Similarly, mobilizing and pooling of savings also showed a strong positive correlation with growth (r = 0.527, p < 0.001). Further, allocation of capital was moderately and positively correlated with growth (r = 0.348, p < 0.001). Regression analysis yielded a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.470 which indicated that approximately 47% of the variation in the growth of the small and medium agribusiness enterprises in Machakos County can be explained by access to credit, mobilizing and pooling of savings and allocation of capital. Access to credit had the highest coefficient of B = 0.234 and p = 0.000. Mobilization and pooling of savings also had statistically significant effect on the growth of the small and medium agribusiness enterprises in Machakos County (B = 0.208, β = 0.380, p = 0.000). Allocation of capital had the smallest but still significant effect on the growth of small and medium agribusiness enterprises in Machakos County (B = 0.111, p = 0.003). The study concluded that access to credit, mobilizing and pooling of savings and allocation of capital had effect on the growth of the SMEs in the agribusiness sector. The financial institutions are therefore recommended to develop flexible and inclusive credit models that minimize reliance on traditional collateral in order to improve accessibility. The government and non-government actors are recommended to strengthen cooperative societies and village savings groups to support the pooling of resources among agribusiness SMEs. The financial institutions and support organizations are recommended to increase efforts to offer the business owners and managers targeted financial literacy programs on budgeting, capital investment planning, and working capital management. There is a need for other studies to focus on small and medium agribusiness enterprises in other regions in Kenya as well as SMEs in other sector, since the study only focused on agribusiness enterprises in Machakos County.
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    Effect of behavioral biases on tax compliance among small and medium-sized enterprises owners Nairobi county, Kenya
    (KCA University, 2025) Njagi, Isaac N.
    This study investigated the influence of behavioural biases on tax compliance among medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners in Nairobi County, Kenya. It focused on key biases, including mental accounting, risk aversion, authority trust bias, and overconfidence bias, to understand their impact on tax compliance behaviours. Despite efforts to streamline tax systems and promote voluntary compliance, challenges persisted, particularly in developing economies like Kenya, where the tax-to-GDP ratio had declined, signalling ongoing compliance issues. This study filled a critical gap in the literature, as previous research had largely overlooked the specific effects of these biases on tax compliance, particularly among SME owners in Nairobi County. The research applied theories such as Mental Accounting Theory, Prospect Theory, Institutional Trust Theory, and Behavioural Finance Theory to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding these biases. The target population consisted of 32,251 SME owners in Nairobi County who had registered and paid their trade licenses by July 2023. The study found that mental accounting did not significantly affect tax compliance. Despite the hypothesis that individuals who categorized their finances might show different compliance behaviours, the results revealed that mental accounting did not meaningfully influence tax compliance. In contrast, risk aversion showed a positive and significant relationship with tax compliance. SME owners who were more risk-averse demonstrated higher levels of compliance, likely due to a greater fear of penalties and legal repercussions. Authority trust bias, however, had a negative impact on tax compliance. SME owners who exhibited higher trust in authorities were less likely to comply with tax obligations, possibly due to a belief that authorities would overlook minor infractions. Lastly, overconfidence bias had a positive and significant effect on tax compliance. SME owners who felt more confident in their understanding of tax requirements and their ability to comply were more likely to fulfil their tax obligations. The findings provided valuable insights for policy interventions aimed at improving tax compliance rates among SMEs. By addressing both the structural challenges of tax systems and the cognitive biases influencing compliance behaviour, this study contributed to a better understanding of the psychological factors driving financial decisions. The research offered practical recommendations for tax authorities, policymakers, and SME owners, with the goal of supporting sustainable economic development through improved revenue collection and compliance practices.
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    Effect of marketing strategies on performance of small and medium enterprises in Kitengela township, Kajiado county
    (Kca University, 2016) Sapuro, James T.
    Small and Medium Enterprises like other large enterprises have increasingly used various marketing strategies in their operation. This study sought to find out the effects of marketing strategies on the business performance of SMEs in Kitengela Township, Kenya. Companies are continually faced with the need to meet the challenges that arises from the ever changing markets and continuous competition that they face nationally, regionally and globally. As a result companies have to develop clearly defined strategies and plans for survival and growth. This research adopted a descriptive research design, with target population of 62 SMEs in Kitengela. Census sampling method was used to select the SMEs, with the sampling size of the study being 186 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaire and analysed by aid of Statistical Package of Social Scientists (SPSS). The findings were summarized using statistical measures of dispersion while data is presented using tables, graphs and frequencies. The study found out that place marketing strategy, promotion marketing strategies, and product marketing strategies have a positive and significant relationship with business performance. It further found out price marketing strategy to have a positive but insignificant relationship with business performance of SMEs. The study thus recommends that SMEs need to pay attention to the 4Ps marketing mix in general and on the place marketing strategy in particular (since it had the largest coefficient) to improve business performance.
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    The Impact Of Mobile Money Services On The Performance Of Small And Medium Enterprises In An Urban Town In Kenya
    (KCA University, 2013) Nyaga, Kenneth M.
    Since the launch of mobile money services in Kenya in 2007, the number of subscriptions has grown to approximately 48% of entire the Kenyan population. This overwhelming uptake has been attributed to the affordability and accessibility of the service, especially among low income earners. The main challenges of mobile money technology include; the requirement of cash tellers or agents at convenient locations to allow easy access to cash when needed, the rising number of fraudulent cases through the service and the lack of interest earned on money deposited in mobile money services frameworks. Mobile phone operators seem to be doing their best to address these challenges. Amidst these challenges it is useful to know how mobile money services influence or impact SMEs industry in urban towns in Kenya. The objectives of this study are; to investigate current awareness and uptake of various mobile money services, to determine if mobile money services uptake has any impact on SMEs growth through increased sales or savings and loan accessibility, establish if mobile money service qualities of low cost, convenience and accessibility result in increased SMEs performance and establish if mobile money services are considered efficient and reliable by SMEs in Naivasha Town. The study found that mobile money has made a significant contribution to the SME sector. Majority of the traders rely on it as opposed to the formal banking sector for their day to day transactions. Secondly, it is evident that all the respondents in this study had a clear understanding of the basic functions of mobile money services. Mobile money services have a positive impact on sales. Efficiency and reliability contribute more to mobile money utility and SMEs growth. It is worth noting that majority of the respondents had reservations on the convenience and cost of the service as a result of problems associated with the functionality of the service. Delays were a major concern of the respondents but only a few people had experienced it. Thirdly, many of the players in the SME sector do not use the service for savings, to access loans or have bank accounts hence creating a major potential for mobile money. From the findings, it is evident that, mobile money users are not conversant with mobile-bank transactions on loan applications and repayment and prefer the normal banking system to mobile banking when it comes to loans and advances.
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    Effects Of Mobile Banking Services On The Performance Of Small And Medium Manufacturing Enterprises In Thika Town, Kenya
    (KCA University, 2016) Kibui, Lucy
    The general objective of this study was to investigate the effects of mobile banking services on the performance of SMEs in Kenya. The study applied a descriptive research design. The target population of this study was the 264 small business enterprises operating in the manufacturing sector in Thika Town. This research used stratified random sampling. A sample of 106 respondents was selected from a target population of 264 respondents (including owners or managers). This research used primary data that was collected by use of a self-administered questionnaire distributed through drop and pick later method. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The study found that mobile banking affects the performance of SMEs in Thika Town to a great extent. SMEs in Thika Town mainly utilize mobile banking service for payment of goods by customers through ‘Lipa na M-Pesa’, for savings to financial institutions, money transfer, phone to bank operations, mini-statements enquiry, credits and airtime purchase and payment of firm bills; cost effectiveness of mobile banking affect the performance of SMEs in Thika Town to a significant extent. Mobile financial services affect efficiency of service delivery hence the performance of small businesses in Thika to a great extent. Mobile financial services enhanced customer satisfaction thereby enhancing the performance of the SMEs. The study recommends that business enterprises keep adopting and using mobile banking in their operations because the number of people with access to a mobile handset is increasing every day. The study recommends that policy makers consider mobile banking in their formulation of policies because of the technological developments and the expected switch from cash transactions to technologically supported mobile banking services.
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    Effect Of Credit Accessibility Through Savings And Credit Cooperatives On The Financial Performance Of Micro And Small Enterprises In Kiambu County: A Case Study Of Micro And Small Enterprises In Tai Savings And Credit Cooperative Society Limited
    (KCA University, 2015) Njiriri, Ibrahim M.
    Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) play a major role in economic development, particularly in Emerging Economies, such as Kenya. However, despite this pivotal role, most MSEs hardly survive due to lack of limited access to credit. This study was motivated by the difficulty faced by MSEs in accessing credit from financial institution to sustain business growth and financial performance. The purpose of the study was to establish the extent to which credit accessibility affected the financial performance of MSEs in Kiambu County using Tai SACCO Society Limited as the case study.. The study was guided by the following objectives; to establish the effect of amount of credit to the financial performance of MSEs, to establish the effect of frequency of credit on the financial performance of MSEs and to establish the effect of credit terms on the financial performance of MSEs. The study was based on a descriptive survey design. Primary data was collected using face to face questionnaires to respondents who were owners/managers of the business while secondary data was from Tai SACCO loan records for year 2013 and other regulatory institutions. A sample size of 170 respondents was selected from a population of 850 MSEs using clustered random sampling method on the basis of the seven branches of Tai Sacco. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20, Microsoft Excel and R studio. Regression analysis was carried out to establish the association among the variables. The results indicated a significant positive association of amount of credit and financial performance of MSEs while there existed a negative association between credit terms and frequency of credit on the financial performance of MSEs. Amount of credit contributed 3.25 % of the variance in financial performance in MSEs. Regression analysis revealed that frequency of credit contributed - 3.26% of the variance in financial performance of MSEs while credit terms contributed - 0.25% of the variance in financial performance of MSEs. In order to improve access to credit by MSEs, lending financial institutions need to adjust credit terms in line with what borrowers can afford.