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Barriers Faced by Micro Finance Institutions in the Diversification of their Products in Nairobi
Get PDFToday, Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) play an important role in the economic
development of poor communities. MFIs include non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), credit unions, non-bank financial intermediaries, and even a few commercial
banks. The World Bank estimates that there are now more than 7,000 microfinance
institutions, serving some 16 million poor people in developing countries. To the
extent that these MFIs become financially viable, self-sustaining, and integral to the
communities in which they operate, they have the potential to attract more resources
and expand services to clients. The majority of these microfinance organizations
are donor funded, which is an obstacle to their sustainability. Micro credit and
microfinance have changed the lives of people and revitalized communities in the
world. The main objective of the study was to identify the barriers faced by micro
finance institutions in the process of diversifying their financial products. The study
was both qualitative and quantitative where all registered micro finance institutions
in Nairobi was done. Data was collected using both primary and secondary data.
Data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), and presented
using tables and frequencies. From the study it was established that the micro finance
institutions faced some barriers. The major barriers were politics and legal policies,
economic and financial social aspect and donor aspect. An important component of
financial sector reforms is the liberalization of interest rates. There is need for a policy
that advocates for better access to capital sources and investment opportunities for
microfinance sustainability, and also encourages MFIs to increase their accessibility,
build capacity, be more transparent, adopt acceptable performance standards, and
promote professionalism that in turn enhances service delivery
Input is as Good as Output: Effect of Training Inputs on Competencies of Business Trainees in Marsabit County, Kenya
No full textBusiness training is a key intervention mechanism for building competencies
of business trainees which have yielded satisfactory results around the
world. Efforts to enhance business competencies of youths, women and
self-help groups in Marsabit Central and Marsabit South Sub-Counties
which employed Systematic Training Cycle (STC) approaches had mix
results. In addition, the youth development index and gender equality index
were below the national indices of 0.58 and 0.65 respectively. The study
areas also have unemployment rate of 65% among the youths and women.
Motivated by these scenarios, a study was designed to analyze effects of
business management training input on the business competencies of the
trainees in the study areas. The study showed that about 50% of all business
trainers have not trained their trainees in basic business management areas
while 35.5% of the business trainees did not receive any repeat training as
attested by the t-test (t = 0.01, p-value = 0.992, α=0.05) and Pearson Product
Moment correlation coefficient (ρ=0.897). It was further established that
generally the training input did not have significant effect on the business
competencies of the trainees (b0 = 0.141, α = 0.05). However, sourcing of
funds (p = 0.041, α=0.05), business communication (p= 0.029, α=0.05) and
product/service selling (p = 0.044, α=0.05) had some significant effects on
the trainees. These results depict that training inputs have not significantly
enhanced the business competencies of the trainees. This implies that
there could be internal or external training programme factors that may
have contributed to such low business competence transfer
A relational analysis of utilization of community resources on students’ performance in History & Government of KCSE in public secondary schools in Embu County, Kenya
No full textThe students’ performance in History & Government in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination in
Embu County has been low over the last ten years. Despite, the various interventions, low performance persists. The
study was guided by the following objective to assess how the influence of utilization of community resources affect
performance of History & Government, The study was guided by the instructional design and the education production
theories. The research employed mixed methodology and concurrent triangulation design. Target population of the
study was 1541 respondents comprising 1340 form four students taking History & Government, 134 History &
Government teachers, 67 principals in public secondary schools in Kenya. The sample size was a total of 328
respondents made up of 20 school principals, 40 teachers and 268 students. Research instruments comprised of
questionnaires for teachers and students while an interview guide was used for the principals. Piloting was done in 10%
of the schools in Embu County that were not included in the final sample. Content validity of the instruments was
ascertained by a team of experts from the Department of Educational Administration and Management of Mount Kenya
University. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined using the split-half method. Cronbach Alpha was used
to determine the reliability coefficient. A reliability coefficient of 0.07 and above was accepted otherwise, it was
revised. Dependability of the qualitative instrument was ascertained using detailing all the events and asking a team of
experts to audit while credibility was established through data triangulation. Data was analyzed quantitatively using
both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics included percentage, mean and standard deviation.
Inferential statistics included correlational and regression analysis. The qualitative data derived was analyzed
thematically and presented in narrative form. It was concluded that in – service training adequately prepared teachers
in the use of the education syllabus although the teachers were inadequate. Based on the findings of the study, the
following were the recommendations; There was need for the identification of the resource requirement and assessing
quality in terms of the needs and the use of the resources for teaching and learning of history and government in
schools in Embu County
Towards a practical oriented entrepreneurship training. The case of a Youthful Entrepreneurs-owned Image Horizon Enterprise Limited
No full textYouth unemployment is one of the major factors pushing young people into
vicious cycles of poverty making them vulnerable to social exclusion and crisis. It is
difficult for the youth to find decent and productive jobs due to lack of appropriate
entrepreneurial culture and vocational skills, and this leads not only to economic
challenges but also to a security challenge. Unemployment exists not just because
there are no jobs but primarily due to the absence of entrepreneurial culture and lack
of skills resulting from failure to match training with market needs. To reverse this trend,
Image Horizon Enterprise Limited saw the urgent need to direct strategies that have
been articulated by the government towards the development of both procurement
and entrepreneurial training capacities employing an extensively experiential and
participatory method of learning with a view to promoting the establishment
and growth of enterprises and promote youth leadership. The interventions have
variously targeted promotion of youth development and empowerment through
building of leadership and entrepreneurial capacities of the youth, enhancement of
employable skills, and promotion of creativity and innovation amongst the youth.
The customized training content includes but is not limited to: Entrepreneurial
Process; Motivation and Business Skills; Opportunity perception and enterprise
creation; Environment Awareness; Entrepreneurial and Managerial Skills; Enterprise
Management and Business Planning; Business plan proposals; Business mentorship;
Background to the AGPO program and the opportunities available at national level;
Government tendering process; How to fill in a tender form; How to do a Technical
Proposal and many other areas of capacity building. We have been able to reach over
3,000 young people comprising of youths, women and persons with disability. Most
of the trained young people have become beneficiaries of government tenders and
budding businessmen and businesswomen as detailed in this paper
User interface Design and Information Systems Usage: A Case Study of TVET Information System at IPRC Kigali
No full textThis is a research paper that evaluates the user interface design of the information system used in all Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Rwanda, with a view to enhancing its user friendliness and by extension its usage..The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of User Interface Design on Information
Systems Usage for the Technical Vocational Education and Training Information System at
(TVET-IS) at Integrated Polytechnic and Regional Centre (IPRC) Kigali, with the following
objectives; to examine the design of the user interface of TVET information systems at IPRC
Kigali; to evaluate the level of usage of the TVET information system at IPRC Kigali; and to
establish the relationship between TVET Information system user interface design and its
usage. The study was a descriptive research design with a simple random sampling method
used to select academic, administrative, and ICT staff respondents for administration of the
questionnaire. From a target population of 308, a sample size of 174 staff was selected. Data
was analyzed using SPSS version 22 with tables, frequencies and charts used for presentation.
TVET IS components considered in this research, were interface usability, interface layout
and the interface design technology. The correlation coefficient (r = 0.587, P<0.01) was found
between interface layout and IS Usage implying that the relationship was positive and
statistically significant. Similarly r = 0.743, P<0.01 for the relationship between interface
design Technology and IS Usage implying that the relationship was positive and statistically
significant. Correlation coefficient (r = 0.642) and p-value (0.000) was produced between
interface usability and IS usage meaning the relationship was positive and statistically
significant. The TVET IS was used for data entry, retrieval and data security to a very
minimal degree. The finding therefore showed that the relationship between User Interface
Design and IS usage with multiple correlation coefficient R = 0.994, provided evidence that
user interface design and TVET IS usage was positive and statistically significant. The
recommendation after this study and findings is that IPRC Kigali administration should set up
policies and mechanism to have all its activities done online with much emphasis on TVET
Information System since most modules for the activities are included in this system. The
online activities would include those activities that bring incentives to the staff and activities
like accreditation of programs and accreditation of schools be done online through TVET-IS.
More coaching is paramount to the users of the system so that they are very conversant with
the system and technologies used. Workforce Development Authority should only accept
online applications for accreditation and its approval to IPRC through TVET Information.
The government should set the policy where online services are paramount and this would encourage institutions like IPRC Kigali to use the available systems like TVET-IS to the
maximum.Author
Demonstrating the Potential Role of Transnational Diaspora Entrepreneurs
No full textBusiness acceleration is essential for guiding enterprises through ‘business
adolescence’ and into ‘business maturity’ stages of their development. This
presentation will revisit the concept of business acceleration, to discuss how it is related
to the concept of business development, and to review the roles that transnational
diaspora entrepreneurs (TDEs) can play in the process of business acceleration in the
African context. Three points, which mark reality in literally all African countries, set
the paper’s accent: First, for both for new and growing firms, in literally all African
countries, access to capital is a big challenge. As a result, self- financing is the main
source of business finance for the overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs. TDEs
own financial capacities, business knowledge & skills and strategic networks as well
as linkages to business financing institutions can be leveraged to overcome this
challenge. Second, there is an evident void in terms of business knowledge and skills.
For instance, business plans usually do not satisfy the stringent criteria for business
financing. Moreover, empirical studies suggest that finance per se is not the central
issue of Africa’s venture’s success or failure; rather, the entrepreneur’s knowledge and
skills, which hinder them to articulate business ideas properly and consequently, limit
their chances to access finance. In this case as well, empirical evidence demonstrates
that TDEs possess the requisite business knowledge and skills which can be tapped
to benefit the African entrepreneur. Third, TDEs are usually engaged in strategic
networks. These networks contribute to business acceleration, by addressing market
gaps associated with, inter alia: business knowledge and skills, business transaction
costs, efficiency in resource use, etc. In contrast, African firms lack this aspect
of strategic social capital, which is obviously, one of the necessary conditions for
success in business. The discourse on leveraging TDEs to accelerate business in Africa
therefore builds on three key business assets, which TDEs possess: access to business
financial resources, broad and in-depth business knowledge and skills, ownership
and/or social capital in the form of strategic networks. The discourse focuses on and
demonstrates the potential for the TDEs to induce business acceleration through
three channels: improvement of the scale of business, improvement of scope of
business, and diversification of (both factor and product) markets
Desert hedgehog knockout mice show a reduced ratio of CD4+:CD8+ in thymic developing T cells
Get PDFThymic differentiation is important and determines the strength of adaptive immunity in mammals in their later days in life. There are many factors that have been found to influence the development of T lymphocytes in the thymus and these include the effect of hedgehog signalling family of proteins. Immunologists and other basic science researchers have established the role of Indian hedgehog and sonic hedgehog in thymocytes development in the recent past, but the role of hedgehog is not well known. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of Desert hedgehog in CD4:CD8 ratio in developing thymocytes of mice. Methods: Smashed thymocytes from mice deficient of Desert hedgehog and those with an intact gene coding for this protein were prepared in a cell suspension using standard procedures. The cell suspensions were stained using fluorochrome-labelled monoclonal anti: CD4-PE, CD8-TRI, CD3-FITC, CD5-FITC, CD44-PE and CD25-FITC (e-Bioscience). Samples were analyzed using a three-color flow cytometry. The flow cytometry-generated data was analyzed using flowjo (Treestar, USA). Statistical significance of the findings was determined using paired t-test and reported at p<0.05. Results: There was a general upward trend on CD4+CD8+ double positive thymocytes in Desert hedgehog mice relative to WT controls. An analysis of CD4:8 ratio revealed a reduced ratio in Dhh KO mice compared to that of WT controls attributable to the finding that there might have been a preferential differentiation of DP CD4+CD8+ to SP CD4+ in Dhh knockout mice as demonstrated by percentage of thymic subsets. The results of this study were not statistically significant and this was blamed on the fewer number of animals used in the study. Conclusions: Dhh might have a role arresting the DP cell subjects from differentiating preferentially to CD4+ T cells. To get statistically significant findings, these experiments could be repeated with a larger animal sample
Reactivity of cis-platinum(II) complexes with 2-(4-substituted)phenylthiomethyl)quinoline nonleaving ligands toward thiourea nucleophiles
No full textThe sequential substitution of aqua ligands from [Pt{2-(phenylthiomethyl)quinoline}(H2O)2]CF3SO3, Pt(L1), [Pt{2-(4-tert-butylphenylthiomethyl)quinoline}(H2O)2]CF3SO3 Pt(L2), and [Pt{2-(4-fluorophenylthiomethyl) quinoline}(H2O)2]CF3SO3 Pt(L3) by thiourea nucleophiles (Nu) was studied under pseudo–first-order conditions as a function of concentration and temperature using stopped-flow and UV-visible spectrophotometric techniques. The observed pseudo–first-order rate constants for the substitutions can be described by the rate law: kobs(1/2) = k2(1/2)[Nu], where the subscript denotes the consecutive substitution steps. The first aqua ligand was substituted opposite to the strong σ-trans-directing thioether followed by the aqua ligand opposite to the quinoline or pyridine moieties. Second-order rate constants, k2(1st), for the substitution of the first aqua ligand by thiourea nucleophiles ranged between 9 and 22 M−1 s−1 for Pt(L1), 86 and 326 M−1 s−1 for Pt(L2), and 58 –287 M−1 s−1 for Pt(L3). The ranges of the second-order rate constant, k2(2nd), were always lower than the k2(1st)’s and are 0.3-9 M−1 s-1 for Pt(L1), 2-20 M−1 s−1 for Pt(L2), and 0.3-5 M−1 s−1 for Pt(L3). Aqua substitution from Pt(L2) is slower for both steps than from Pt4, its pyridyl derivative from our previous study. A Job's method of continuous variation plot suggests a species with a metal-to-nucleophile ratio of 1:3 as the ultimate product of the chloride substitution from the Pt(II) complexes by the incoming thiourea nucleophiles. The high and negative activation entropy and low and positive activation enthalpy values support an associative mechanism of activation, characteristic of substitution reactions occurring in square-planar complexes
Assessment of Sustainable Strategies for Business Acceleration
No full textBusiness acceleration is a holistic advisory service that brings about rapid growth and
sorts out all organizational, operational and strategy difficulties that may be facing
a business. Small and medium enterprises are considered important in accelerating
economic and social development. Business acceleration main objective is to produce
successful firms that will survive in the competitive market. Business acceleration
is measured by profits, productivity, human resources and customer care. Some of
these strategies include; sales and marketing, financing, innovation and training.
Innovation is the process of making changes to something to make it appealing to
the consumer. The objective of this study was to assess the sustainable strategies for
business acceleration. The study used an exploratory design. The target population
was 55 employees of 5 companies, one general manager, 5 employees from
marketing, 5 employees from research and development departments in companies
involved in production of products and services in Nairobi County. Collection of data
was done through the use of questionnaires and interviews. Data was analyzed both
qualitatively and quantitatively and processed through statistical package for social
sciences (SPSS) version 20 with special emphasis on the facts and emerging themes
that address the research questions and resulting correlation and regression analyses
results presented using frequency tables and graphical technique
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Business Acceleration in Africa
No full textThe U.S.A and the European Nations defined the economic order of the 19th
century and the better part of the 20th century. Later, Japan and the Asian Tigers
carved a niche for themselves in the global economy. The final two decades of the
20th century witnessed the resurgence of ancient civilizations, China and India,
which today, together account for the highest growth in key economic sectors such
as automobiles, infrastructure development, energy, health, telecommunications,
e-commerce and consumer goods. The continent of Africa has every opportunity
to emerge as the defining economic force of the 21stcentury. In this paper, I discuss
the key forces that shape Africa’s ecosystem and what businesses should do to extract
synergies from the system. While political, legal, and infrastructure challenges plague
the business environment, the rich socio-cultural, demographic and geographic
heritage needs to be harnessed and nurtured so that Africa reaches her true
potential. In this ecosystem, the key players, the political leaders, the established
business community, entrepreneurs, multinational organizations, NGOs, financial
institutions, media, families, and the academic community will join hands to enable
African businesses to take birth, grow and develop. Together, they will confront
the challenges of unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, women’s rights, corruption,
terrorism, health and environment. I provide two case studies to illustrate how this
goal can be accomplished. The first case study examines how the ecosystem has been
harnessed to enable entrepreneurs to flourish in the developed nation of United
States, and the second case study examines this issue in emerging India. The common
themes from these two case studies will serve as a foundation for developing Africa’s
entrepreneurial ecosystem