The Influence of Access to Credit on Growth of Women- Owned Micro and Small Enterprises in Kitui County, Kenya

Micro and Small Enterprise sector (MSE) has been recognized throughout developing countries as an engine for development. The importance of women MSEs in social and economic development has long been recognized by the International Labour Organization. Growth of Micro and Small Enterprise means increase in sales, profits, employees, production and service lines. This paper examined access to credit influence the growth of women owned micro and small scale enterprises in rural areas of Kitui County. The study used descriptive survey as the research design involving a target population of 390 women owned MSEs drawn from manufacturing, agriculture, commerce and services sectors. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to form a sample of 194. Simple random sampling was applied on the sample to select the respondents from each sector for the study. The research instruments were pre – tested questionnaire and observation guide and data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results suggested that access to credit positively influenced the growth womenowned MSEs. The study recommended for review of the lending policies; the laws pertaining to land ownership, inheritance, women and men rights and for training, mentoring and encouraging women to form business networks. A baseline survey capturing the dynamic growth in the MSE sector in each County should be conducted.