The purpose of this study is to examine how the management of micro-finance institutions in Uganda has affected the performance indicators of these institutions, and whether or not the management of these institutions is responsible for their failure. The need to carry out this study arose as micro-finance institutions in Uganda failed to attain their planned performance indicators, to such a degree that most of them closed down. Although at their inception there was considerable entrepreneurial activity supported by a highly favourable government policy environment, their closure soon after establishment raised concern as to what caused them to fail. This study was encouraged by the observation that most of these institutions failed to realise their performance indicators as planned, but the underlying cause was not clear. Thus, the study focuses on establishing stakeholder perceptions of the management of the micro-finance institutions, and the relationship between their management (planning, implementation of planned programmes, and control) and their performance indicators, following the rationale of the functional and contingency paradigms of the concept of management. The study examines the way management dealt with these institutions‟ internal and external environments to influence their ability to realise their planned performance. The study is conducted using positivistic research methodology. This involved a collection of quantitative data from a sample of 454 respondents, including 64 managers, 177 employees, and 213 clients. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the data, and purposive and convenience sampling were applied to select the respondents. The respondents were selected from 56 randomly selected micro-finance institutions operating in Central Uganda and representing 75 percent of the country‟s operational institutions by December 2009. The data were analysed using the narrative, chi-square test, the ANOVA, factor analysis, and correlation and regression methods of analysis aided by the SPSS programme. The findings show that 79.2 percent of stakeholders (managers, employees, and clients) perceived that the management of their institutions was not conducted well in terms of planning, plan implementation, and control. Eighty-one (81) percent of both managers and employees and 83.4 percent of clients held the perception that the institutions failed xvi to achieve their performance indicators as planned. Furthermore, 81.7 percent of both managers and employees described their institutions‟ internal environment as largely defined by unsatisfactory supervision, and 66.9 percent of them revealed that their institutions‟ external environment was defined by family relations. These relations adversely affected the ownership, decision-making, employee recruitment, and deployment in the institutions. The findings also show that there were significant positive but weak relationships between management (planning, implementation, control, and dealing with the internal environment and the impact of the external environment) and the performance indicators of the institutions. The management of the institutions realised only 24.8 percent of their predicted performance indicators. Of the 13 null hypotheses that were formulated for this study, seven were rejected and the alternative hypotheses were accepted, while six were accepted. All the dimensions of the management of the micro-finance institutions in Uganda need to be developed if the performance of the institutions is to be improved and sustained to desired levels. It is suggested that large performance improvements will be realised by ameliorating all the dimensions of the institutions' management, while placing more emphasis on improving the following dimensions: the organisation of the institutions; the managing of their internal environment and the impact of their external environment; the conduct of their internal concurrent control; and the planning of their performance indicators and marketing, involving all the stakeholders, in particular the managers, employees, clients, Government, and the Uganda Micro-finance Forum, where necessary. Further research is recommended into other factors affecting the performance indicators of the institutions, since none of the management functions had explained them properly.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2016 / Financial Inclusion seeks to overcome the friction that hinders markets from expanding access and use of formal financial products and services to a broad number of people. Despite the significant policy efforts and increased presence of formal financial service providers, the Ugandan economy still bears low levels of financial inclusion, especially in the rural areas. The finance growth and decision-behaviour theories substantiate the importance of understanding the psychological processes underlying observed individual judgments or choices regarding the use of formal financial services. Using Sen’s capability approach, this study examined the personal and societal capabilities that influence financial inclusion of individual financial consumers. Specifically, this study assessed whether the capabilities an individual possessed actually contributed towards their likelihood of financial inclusion. The hypothesized study relationships with financial inclusion were realized, following a positivist and quantitative approach using a cross sectional research design. The sample of 400 individuals to whom the survey questionnaire was delivered were drawn from two distinct regions of Central and Northern Uganda. The two regions represented varying levels of financial inclusion - high inclusion (urban Central) and low inclusion (rural Northern). In this study, besides the traditional regression models, structural equation modelling using Analysis of Moments (AMOS), were used to establish the causal relationships between the hypothesized study variables. The study results revealed that financial self-efficacy, financial literacy, social networks and the interaction of the personal and societal capabilities significantly contributed to an individual’s financial inclusion across the two regions. The results further revealed that the personal and societal capabilities independently, and when combined, contribute towards an individual’s financial self-efficacy. Through an assessment of the mediation effect, this study demonstrated how financial self-efficacy can boost individuals to confidently undertake financial tasks and decisions and consequently, financial inclusion in relation to their capabilities, respectively. The results provide support to Sen’s capability theory as a tool for explaining financial inclusion from a demand side perspective within the Ugandan context. / GR2018