LEVEL OF ACCESS TO FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN KENYA.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Michael Njeru Njue ◽  
Marion Mbogo
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Credit Scoring ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Sampling Frame ◽  
Financial Products ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to highlight the level of access to financial products and services for small and medium enterprises in KenyaMethodology:The research design was descriptive survey study. The target population was 46 commercial banks .The sampling frame was the list of commercial banks given at the Central bank of Kenya Website. A sample of 17 banks was selected using random sampling. The second stage of sampling involved the selection of the respondents using a stratified sampling approach. The strata were the various departments that interact with SMEs in a bank. The respondents were the head of departments of the respective departments that form the strata. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire that consisted of both open ended and close ended questions. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS.Results: The study objectives were to establish the level of access to financial products and services offered by the banks to SMEs. Results from the bank manager’s perspective indicated that the level of access to finance was high, but the bank clients indicated otherwise, that it was low. The other objective of the study was to determine the factors that hinder the SMEs from accessing the financial products offered by banks. Results indicated that several factors influence access of SMEs to finance. These factors include gender, level of education, size of the business, age of the entrepreneur, collateral, and level of income for the entrepreneurs. All the factors had a negative effect on the access of finances from the banks by SMEs and hence indicate SMEs low access to financial products. Results also indicated that there are tools and systems put in place by banks to improve accessibility to financial products offered to small and medium enterprises.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy:The study recommended that training be emphasized to SME entrepreneurs on financial matters, all gender to be treated equally, the banks to introduce financial education programs for SMEs to improve their access to credit, banks to further make use of a credit scoring system to assess the credit worthiness of small businesses and to introduce the use of new credit bureau regulations to increase SME finances.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN KENYA.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Michael Njeru Njue ◽  
Marion Mbogo
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Credit Scoring ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Sampling Frame ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Financial Products

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to highlight the need for banks to develop financial products and services for small and medium enterprises.Methodology:The research design was descriptive survey study. The target population was 46 commercial banks .The sampling frame was the list of commercial banks given at the Central bank of Kenya Website. A sample of 17 banks was selected using random sampling. The second stage of sampling involved the selection of the respondents using a stratified sampling approach. The strata were the various departments that interact with SMEs in a bank. The respondents were the head of departments of the respective departments that form the strata. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire that consisted of both open ended and close ended questions. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS.Results: One of the study objectives was to establish the level of access to financial products and services offered by the banks to SMEs. Results from the bank manager’s perspective indicated that the level of access to finance was high, but the bank clients indicated otherwise, that it was low. The other objective of the study was to determine the factors that hinder the SMEs from accessing the financial products offered by banks. Results indicated that several factors influence access of SMEs to finance. These factors include gender, level of education, size of the business, age of the entrepreneur, collateral, and level of income for the entrepreneurs. All the factors had a negative effect on the access of finances from the banks by SMEs and hence indicate SMEs low access to financial products. Another objective of the study was to establish the tools or systems required to improve accessibility to financial products offered. Results indicated that there are tools and systems put in place by banks to improve accessibility to financial products offered to small and medium enterprises.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy:The study recommended that training be emphasized to SME entrepreneurs on financial matters, all gender to be treated equally, the banks to introduce financial education programs for SMEs to improve their access to credit, banks to further make use of a credit scoring system to assess the credit worthiness of small businesses and to introduce the use of new credit bureau regulations to increase SME finances.

TOOLS OR SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY TO FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Michael Njeru Njue ◽  
Marion Mbogo
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Credit Scoring ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Sampling Frame ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Financial Products ◽  
Negative Effect

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to highlight the need for banks to develop financial products and services for small and medium enterprises.Methodology:The research design was descriptive survey study. The target population was 46 commercial banks .The sampling frame was the list of commercial banks given at the Central bank of Kenya Website. A sample of 17 banks was selected using random sampling. The second stage of sampling involved the selection of the respondents using a stratified sampling approach. The strata were the various departments that interact with SMEs in a bank. The respondents were the head of departments of the respective departments that form the strata. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire that consisted of both open ended and close ended questions. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS.Results: One of the study objectives was to establish the level of access to financial products and services offered by the banks to SMEs. Results from the bank manager’s perspective indicated that the level of access to finance was high, but the bank clients indicated otherwise, that it was low. The other objective of the study was to determine the factors that hinder the SMEs from accessing the financial products offered by banks. Results indicated that several factors influence access of SMEs to finance. These factors include gender, level of education, size of the business, age of the entrepreneur, collateral, and level of income for the entrepreneurs. All the factors had a negative effect on the access of finances from the banks by SMEs and hence indicate SMEs low access to financial products. Another objective of the study was to establish the tools or systems required to improve accessibility to financial products offered. Results indicated that there are tools and systems put in place by banks to improve accessibility to financial products offered to small and medium enterprises.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy:The study recommended that training be emphasized to SME entrepreneurs on financial matters, all gender to be treated equally, the banks to introduce financial education programs for SMEs to improve their access to credit, banks to further make use of a credit scoring system to assess the credit worthiness of small businesses and to introduce the use of new credit bureau regulations to increase SME finances.

FACTORS HINDERING SMES FROM ACCESSING THE FINANCIAL PRODUCTS OFFERED BY BANKS

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Njeru Njue ◽  
Marion Mbogo
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Credit Scoring ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Sampling Frame ◽  
Access To Finance ◽  
Financial Products ◽  
Credit Worthiness

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to highlight the factors hindering SMES from accessing the financial products offered by banks.Methodology:The research design was descriptive survey study. The target population was 46 commercial banks .The sampling frame was the list of commercial banks given at the Central bank of Kenya Website. A sample of 17 banks was selected using random sampling. The second stage of sampling involved the selection of the respondents using a stratified sampling approach. The strata were the various departments that interact with SMEs in a bank. The respondents were the head of departments of the respective departments that form the strata. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire that consisted of both open ended and close ended questions. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS.Results:It can be concluded that there were several factors that hindered SMEs access to financial products and services. In particular these factors included lack of credit worthiness information about SMES, lack of collateral limits the SME access to finance, low net value of the entrepreneurs in terms of assets and liabilities (Capital) limits SME access to finance borrower’s lack of honesty and trustworthiness (character) limits SME access to finances.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy:The study recommended that training be emphasized to SME entrepreneurs on financial matters, all gender to be treated equally, the banks to introduce financial education programs for SMEs to improve their access to credit, banks to further make use of a credit scoring system to assess the credit worthiness of small businesses and to introduce the use of new credit bureau regulations to increase SME finances.

Family Firms, Enterprise Development and Tacit Knowledge Transformation: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Innovation in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
pp. 097215092110476
Author(s):  
John Lee Kean Yew
Keyword(s):  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Enterprise Development ◽  
Generational Change ◽  
Knowledge Transformation ◽  
Family Smes ◽  
Medium Enterprises

In light of the global economy, it is undeniable that small businesses such as family-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affect economic performance globally. They offer a key basis of flexibility and innovation but also face some challenges along the way. Since family SMEs form a large portion in the Malaysian corporate sector, the economy of this country is highly dependent on family firms’ entrepreneurial capacity. During the past decade, although family SMEs innovation is analytically and empirically reviewed in terms of theory building, it still lacks a systematic adoption of thorough and theoretically-based frameworks to gain understanding on the evolution of knowledge transformation surrounding this topic. This study primarily focuses on the development of tacit knowledge through innovation during generational change with specific attention given to three family firms ranging from old, new and declining wealth enterprises. Besides, this article appraises the evolution of SMEs innovation when new generations attempt to transform the tacit knowledge in advancing the products innovation and quality branding in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Challenges Facing Financial Inclusion Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Tea Kasradze
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Financial Products ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Poor Population

Financial inclusion is often considered as an access to financial resources for the wide public and small and medium-sized businesses, although it is a much broader concept and includes a wide range of access to quality financial products and services, including loans, deposit services, insurance, pensions and payment systems. Mechanisms for protecting the rights of consumers of financial products and services are also considered to be subject to financial inclusion. Financial inclusion acquires great importance during the pandemic and post-pandemic period. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic is particularly painful for low-income vulnerable population. A large part of the poor population who were working informally has lost source of income due to lockdown from the pandemic. Remittances have also been reduced / minimized, as the remitters had also lost jobs and are unable to send money home. Today, when people die from Coronavirus disease, it may be awkward to talk about the financial side of a pandemic, but the financial consequences can be far-reaching if steps are not taken today to ensure access to and inclusion of financial resources. The paper examines the impact of the pandemic on financial inclusion and the responses of the governments and the financial sectors to the challenge of ensuring the financial inclusion of the poor population and small and medium enterprises.

scholarly journals Customer expectations and service delivery: Are SME’s aware of the service quality standards gap?

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 175-184
Author(s):  
Johannes Arnoldus Wiid ◽  
Michael Colin Cant ◽  
Carly Prinsloo
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Customer Expectations ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Service Standards

Competition among small businesses are high, as small businesses compete for market share which larger business do not engage with. A definite competitive advantage that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can rely on is service quality (Kasul & Motwani in Anuar & Yusuff 2011:328; Tseng & Wu 2014:77). SMEs do not necessarily understand service standards and how to ensure that the service standard is implemented. The research utilised a quantitative research design whereby the data was collected by means of a 5-point Likert scale survey known as the SERVQUAL model. The results indicate that there are discrepancies between dimensions those owners feel should be adhered to and the extent to which they perceive their businesses to adhere to these dimensions.

scholarly journals COMMERCIAL BANKS AND THEIR EFFECT ON SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES FINANCING IN RWANDA: A CASE STUDY OF KIGALI CITY AND SOUTHERN PROVINCE

AGROFOR ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutamuliza EULARIE ◽  
Giramata AURORE
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Financial Industry ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Southern Province ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
The Government ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Commercial Banks worldwide are identified to be one of the key players in the financial industry that have positively affected individuals involved in business, and the economy at large, through the functions they perform in the economy. However, inadequate financing in the activities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is still the major constraint faced by people involved in business activities. Even though the Government of Rwanda has made effort to improve the accessibility to credit, entrepreneurs still have some challenges to access financial services in order to improve their businesses. The purpose of this research was to assess the contribution of commercial banks in financing SMEs in Rwanda. A sample of 60 SMEs was selected in Kigali and Southern Province of Rwanda. Data was collected from the respondents through a structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentage distributions. A Pearson Chi-Square Test was used to analyze the relationship between commercial banks and SMEs in Rwanda. The results indicated that the main purposes of loan application were start-up capital, working capital and expansion of businesses. The results also revealed that there was positive relationship between commercial banks and SMEs in Rwanda. The results revealed as well, that commercial banks in Rwanda played a crucial role in contribution to SME’s economic development and small and medium entrepreneurs who got credit from commercial banks expanded their businesses and increased their income.

The determinants of bank selection criteria of SMEs: a fuzzy analytic hierarchy approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manpreet Kaur ◽  
Sanjay Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Valid Instrument ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Quota Sampling ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been reported as a credit-constrained sector in the earlier literature. Amidst the available external financing options, SMEs are dependent upon banks for their financial needs, hence they offer an important profitable segment for banks. Commercial banks need to develop effective targeting strategies for this segment and ranking the priorities of SMEs in selecting commercial banks will be of great help to them. The purpose of this paper is to implement a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) multi-criteria decision model for commercial bank’s selection by SMEs. Design/methodology/approach The research process was carried out in two phases. In Phase I, a self-structured scale was developed to measure bank selection criteria of SMEs after an extensive review of the literature of relevant studies on the topic. A sample of 600 SMEs was selected through non-proportionate quota sampling and only 313 valid responses were received. Phase II was conducted to prioritize the extracted factors through FAHP, a multi-criteria decision-making technique. For this purpose, another questionnaire was designed in the form of pair-wise evaluation and the response was taken on the same from those 313 SMEs again. Findings The results showed that SMEs bank selection criteria can be categorized under six heads, namely, bank attributes, accommodation of credit needs (AC), bank personnel, financial factors (FF), service quality (SQ) and business knowledge. The research study produced a reliable and valid instrument for studying the bank selection criteria of SMEs. The results further revealed that AC is the most important factor considered by SMEs followed by FF and SQ. Going further, global weights were also calculated through the FAHP which revealed that the most important consideration (variable) viewed upon by SMEs is willingness to accommodate credit needs followed by flexible collateral requirements and absence of hidden charges. Research limitations/implications The results of the present study offer significant insights as to the factors SMEs consider while making a bank selection decision. It is of utmost importance for banks to identify true determinant factors used by SMEs while making bank choice decisions as they offer ample profit and revenue opportunities to banks. The results of the study provide a practical approach to banks that would help them in framing strategies for SMEs customers. Originality/value This is the first study of its kind which has not only focused on the hierarchy of factors measuring bank selection criteria of SMEs rather on the hierarchy of single variables also through the calculation of global weights. As banks cannot focus on all the dimensions of the criteria, they can focus on the spirit of that particular criteria.

Electronic Commerce Opportunities, Challenges and Organizational Issues for Australian SMEs

2011 ◽  
pp. 297-314
Author(s):  
Mohini Singh
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Organizational Issues ◽  
Integrated Environment ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Australian small businesses are increasingly adopting the Internet and the World Wide Web as a medium of doing business to reach new customers and suppliers, cut costs and expand business. They also use it to enhance communication between buyers and suppliers. This chapter discusses the findings of an exploratory study in Australia that identified the objectives, opportunities and challenges of e-commerce experienced by small businesses that were mostly early adopters of the Internet as a medium of trade. E-commerce issues presented in this chapter include research findings, supported by theory from literature. Electronic commerce opportunities, challenges and organizational learning by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australia indicate that small businesses have created value with e-commerce, although benefits are long term and dependent on a plethora of technological, business and management issues that need to be addressed. Due to the fast-evolving nature of e-business and technological developments that are new to many small businesses, challenges such as managing the expanded flow of information, cross-border taxation, authentication, trust and security, as well as the high costs of acquiring the required technologies and skills, are prevalent. Other challenges of e-commerce range from Web site maintenance to business process reengineering for an integrated environment. Research findings also highlight the fact that small businesses need formal methods of evaluating the performance of e-commerce to realize the benefits of investment and to further expand their e-commerce venture.

Climate Governance for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises

2020 ◽  
pp. 295-308
Author(s):  
Janis Sarra
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Climate Governance ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Chapter 9 explores why management of climate-related risks can be particularly challenging for micro, small, and medium enterprises (‘MSME’) to address. MSME comprise about 99 per cent of all businesses globally and they often lack the infrastructure and resources to manage deep shifts in their business activities. This chapter explores how one could build financing and infrastructure to support the MSME sector to advance in their transition to net zero. It discusses how the European Union has taken the lead globally on microfinance for vulnerable groups that want to set up or develop their businesses and microenterprises. It is building the institutional capacity of microcredit providers and supporting development of social enterprises by facilitating access to finance. It also examines climate governance for MSME, offering examples of toolkits being developed for micro and small businesses. The chapter concludes with a discussion of contributions that women entrepreneurs and micro-business owners are making in the transition to net zero.

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