Selected Factors Influencing Financial Sustainability of Women-Owned Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises in Westlands Sub County, Nairobi, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t3051Abstract
Most women-owned enterprises (WoEs) experience financial sustainability challenges mostly manifested by failure of these enterprises before their third year of operation. This research examined influence of selected factors on financial sustainability of women-owned manufacturing SMEs in Westlands Sub County, Nairobi, Kenya. Access to credit, level of education, competition, and technology were conceived as the independent variables while financial sustainability was the dependent variable. The underpinning theory is the Pecking Order Theory and the Resource-Based View of the firm. A descriptive research design utilizing a quantitative approach was adopted for this study. The target population was 195 WoEs from which a sample size of 131 was reached. Using simple random sampling, the final sample size was 111 respondents indicating a response rate of 84.7%. A structured questionnaire was used to gather information for this research and these was analyzed using SPSS. The study found that access to credit, competition, technology and level of education significantly affected the financial sustainability of these firms. These findings have implications for WoEs management, the government, and development partners.
Keywords: Women-Owned Enterprises, Financial Sustainability, Access to Credit, Technology, Competition and Manufacturing
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