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In Kenya, like in many developing countries, Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) have become the main focus for achieving the much-needed social and economic development and alleviating poverty. However, their development has been hampered by lack of access to appropriate financial and related services. Micro financing has been seen as a viable alternative to providing financial services to entrepreneurs in the MSE sector. The focus of this study was to explore the role of MFIs in the development of MSEs and to see if there are ways in which this role can be enhanced to better support the growth of MSEs. Such enhancement would contribute greatly towards government efforts to foster social-economic development. The results of the research indicate that generally, MFIs appear to have positively influenced the growth of MSE in Kenya and have potential to further influence MSE growth. There were however a number areas that if paid attention to could enhance this influence. These include the need for MFIs to offer supportive services as opposed to merely credit facilities to MSEs and the need for government intervention by putting in place a suitable Act to regulate the operations of MFIs.

This thesis interrogates the suitability of wireless technologies to implement an eBusiness infrastructure in Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries, particularly in Kenya. A research model was developed based on literature and information obtained from a pilot study. The proposed model extended Task-Technology Fit with two core constructs from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. A preliminary study was conducted to refine the proposed model and inclusion of any variables limiting the suitability of wireless technologies as MSEs’ eBusiness infrastructure. The proposed model was empirically tested using data collected using a survey questionnaire and five descriptive case studies on MSEs in Kenya. A proportionate stratified random sampling method within well defined geographic clusters was used to collect data from 570 MSEs. The constructs were assessed for reliability, validity and exploratory factor analysis using SPSS and validated via a confirmatory factor analysis using Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS maximum likelihood method. Most Kenyans live in rural areas of the country with no access to mainstream technologies and a considerable digital divide exists, particularly between the urban and rural areas. This necessitated an intra-country comparison of access and use of wireless technologies in rural and urban MSEs in implementing an eBusiness infrastructure. The results of the intracountry comparisons indicate that while there are indisputable similarities in usage and perception of barriers and benefits of using wireless technologies to implement eBusiness infrastructure between the rural areas and urban centers in Kenya, there are also considerable differences. The relationships among the research model constructs were different depending on whether the sample was rural or urban. However, the differences between rural and urban MSEs’ ratings of the proposed research model constructs were not statistically significant. The study finds that there are evident positive performance impacts on MSEs that use wireless technologies for their eBusiness infrastructure and that the research model fit well with the data collected. The results also indicate that Task-Technology Fit and Usage directly and significantly affect organizational performance while Performance Expectance, Social Influence and Task-Technology Fit were significant determinants of Usage. Among the three proposed barriers of Security Risks, Affordability and Performance Risks, only Performance Risks had a significant negative effect on Usage. Finally, the study’s results, theoretical, managerial and policy implications are discussed and recommendations for future research given. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / In 2006, the government-supported microfinance programmes implemented by the Kenyan government started lending credit to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) using a group-lending mode, a change which represented a paradigm shift from individual lending mode. The overall aim of this research is to provide an investigation of whether the transformation of this lending policy was backed by any theoretical and empirical support. Specifically, the entirety of this study is intended to give an insight of what might have influenced the change, what informed it and what might have been overlooked. To achieve clarity and the study aim, the research is compartmentalised into three discrete studies. In the first study, a historical investigation into the factors which hindered MSEs from acquiring credit was undertaken. The second study investigated the reasons MSEs were credit rationed. The third study investigated whether the problems experienced by MSEs, associated with lack of credit access (lack of credit demand and rationing), could have been mitigated by group lending. The research utilised quantitative research design, the first two studies utilised data derived from National MSEs Baseline survey conducted in 1999. The third study utilised primary data collected from micro credit groups of the Kenya Rural Enterprise Programme (K-REP) in 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. Various economic models and regression analysis were utilised in analysing different outcomes. In particular, the research utilised Univariate Probit, Bivariate Probit and Heckman Two-Stage Models to model various credit access outcomes. The study found that group lending largely mitigated information asymmetry- the main cause of MSEs failure to access credit. However, the study concludes that asymmetric information was not the only source of credit failure in Kenya. For group lending to work, or to have worked, it required support by other pro-MSE programme dynamics. This suggested that the government decision to change policy was partially informed by theory and practice. / D