Influence of Selected Factors on the Choice of Capital Structure of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kiambu County, Kenya

This study is on the effect of selected factors influencing the capital structure of small and medium size enterprises in Kiambu County, Kenya. SMEs play a pivotal role towards the achievement of the broad goals outlined in vision 2030 and are critical drivers towards making Kenya an industrialized country with high quality of life for its citizens. The study observes that despite their significance, past statistics indicate that 3 out of 5 SMEs fail within the first few months of operation and those that continue 80 per cent fail before the fifth year; it is therefore necessary to eliminate the many constraints facing these small businesses for Kenya to become an industrialized state by the year 2030. The objectives of the study were to determine the effect of firm size, information availability, purpose of finance, cost of finance, and collateral requirement on the capital structure of SMEs in Kiambu County. The study findings will assist Government planners in understanding how to come up with policies that will help the SMEs sector in raising affordable capital as this will have a great impact on the country’s economic growth; financiers will benefit from the findings by developing a better understanding of the factors that influence the capital structure of SMEs. In addition, the findings from the study will contribute to knowledge about financing decisions of SMEs. The study was guided by pecking order theory, credit rationing theory, the agency theory, and the life cycle approach. This study utilized descriptive research design, employing survey methods. The population of interest are the 889 SMEs in Kiambu County registered in the Kiambu Business Directory. The study used proportionate sampling by utilizing a sample of 268 respondents, determined by Fisher’s formula. The data were collected from interview schedules using questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson’s correlation and regression). Data were presented in figures and percentages on pie charts and frequency distribution tables for easier interpretation.  The study findings indicated that the size of the business influenced the capital structure of the firms to great extent (33.6%) and to greatest extent (33.6%) respectively compared with those who were not sure at 18.7%. Availability of information influenced choice of capital structure to a great extent (36.2%) and to greatest extent (45.5%) respectively.  The purpose of the finance influenced choice of capital structure to a great and greatest extent according to 39.9% and 47.8% of the respondents. Personal savings were generally recommended for SMEs with 22.0%, 29.1% and 48.9% of the respondents indicating average, high and very high recommendation. Family and friends borrowing got mixed recommendation with 23.5% and 24.3% of the respondents indicating low and high recommendation respectively, compared with 45.1% who gave average recommendation. Finally, the research sought to test the hypotheses in order to fulfill the objectives of the study by using Pearson’s correlation and regression model and applying t-test to test for the significance in the relationship. All of the null hypotheses were rejected on the basis that the significance of the t-statistic was 0.000 which was less than p-value 0.05 set for the study. Therefore, all the selected factors had an impact on the choice of capital structure for SMEs in Kiambu County. Keywords: Capital Structure, Small and Medium Enterprise

Assessing water availability under pastoral livestock systems in drought-prone Isiolo District, Kenya

Water availability / Water demand / Surface water / Groundwater / Wells / Salinity / Livestock / Grazing / Land use / Water supply / Drainage / GIS / Databases / Cost recovery

Community-directed treatment of lymphatic filariasis in Kenya and its role in the national programmes for elimination of lymphatic filariasis

We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study to examine and compare treatment coverage of lymphatic filariasis by the health system (HST) and a health system implemented, community-directed treatment for the control of lymphatic filariasis (ComDT/HS) in 44 randomly selected villages in coastal Kenya. Demographic information on the villages and peripheral health facilities to guide design and implementation was obtained from a situation analysis phase of this study. A series of interactive training sessions on basic biology of lymphatic filariasis, concept and philosophy of ComDT/HS were given to members of the District Health Management Team (DHMT), peripheral health staff, community leaders and community drug distributors (CDDs) prior to ivermectin distribution. An intensive sensitization process of the community by the trained peripheral health staff and community leaders followed before selection of the CDDs. Quantitative and qualitative data for evaluation of the study were collected by coverage surveys of randomly selected households, focus group discussions and interviews, immediately after the drug distribution. Treatment coverage of all eligible persons was 46.5 and 88% in HST and ComDT/HS villages, respectively, P < 0.001. In comparing treatment coverage by the two study arms in relationship to the distance from a health facility, coverage among HST and not ComDT/HS villages was influenced by distance. In Kenya, ComDT/HS can effectively be implemented by the regular health system and can attain coverage levels compatible with the global filariasis elimination goal. African Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 13 (1-2) 2008: pp. 69-7

Utilisation of priority traditional medicinal plants and local people's knowledge on their conservation status in arid lands of Kenya (Mwingi District)

Mwingi District lies within the Kenyan Arid and Semiarid lands (ASALs) in Eastern Province. Although some ethnobotanical surveys have been undertaken in some arid and semiarid areas of Kenya, limited studies have documented priority medicinal plants as well as local people's awareness of conservation needs of these plants. This study sought to establish the priority traditional medicinal plants used for human, livestock healthcare, and those used for protecting stored grains against pest infestation in Mwingi district. Further, the status of knowledge among the local people on the threat and conservation status of important medicinal species was documented. This study identified 18 species which were regarded as priority traditional medicinal plants for human health. In terms of priority, 8 were classified as moderate, 6 high, while 4 were ranked highest priority species. These four species are Albizia amara (Roxb.) Boiv. (Mimosacaeae), Aloe secundiflora (Engl. (Aloaceae), Acalypha fruticosa Forssk. (Euphorbiaceae) and Salvadora persica L. (Salvadoraceae)

Workload Indicators Of Staffing Need Method in determining optimal staffing levels at Moi Teaching and Referal Hospital

Background: There is an increasing demand for quality healthcare in the face of limited resources. With the health personnel consuming up to three quarters of recurrent budgets, a need arises to ascertain that a workforce for any health facility is the optimal level needed to produce the desired product. Objective: To highlight the experience and findings of an attempt at establishing the optimal staffing levels for a tertiary health institution using the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) method popularised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland. Design: A descriptive study that captures the activities of a taskforce appointed to establish optimal staffing levels. Setting: Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Eldoret, Kenya, a tertiary hospital in the Rift Valley province of Kenya from September 2005 to May 2006. Main outcome measures: The cadres of workers, working schedules, main activities, time taken to accomplish the activities, available working hours, category and individual allowances, annual workloads from the previous year\'s statistics and optimal departmental establishment of workers. Results: There was initial resentment to the exercise because of the notion that it was aimed at retrenching workers. The team was given autonomy by the hospital management to objectively establish the optimal staffing levels. Very few departments were optimally established with the majority either under or over staffed. There were intradepartmental discrepancies in optimal levels of cadres even though many of them had the right number of total workforce. Conclusion: The WISN method is a very objective way of establishing staffing levels but requires a dedicated team with adequate expertise to make the raw data meaningful for calculations. East African Medical Journla Vol. 85 (5) 2008: pp. 232-23

Implications on Livelihoods and the Environment of Uptake of Gasifier Cook Stoves among Kenya’s Rural Households

A majority of people in developing countries use biomass energy for cooking and heating due to its affordability, accessibility and convenience. However, unsustainable biomass use leads to forest degradation and climate change. Therefore, this study was carried out in Kwale County, Kenya, on the use of a biochar-producing gasifier cook stove and implications of its uptake on livelihoods and the environment. Fifty households were trained and issued with a gasifier for free. After 2–3 months of gasifier use, a survey was conducted to investigate the implications of its uptake. The direct impacts included reduced fuel consumption by 38%, reduced time spent in firewood collection, reduced expenditure on cooking fuel, diversification of cooking fuels, improved kitchen conditions and reduced time spent on cooking. The potential benefits included income generation, increased food production, reduced impacts on environment and climate change and reduced health problems. Improved biomass cook stoves can alleviate problems with current cooking methods, which include inefficient fuel use, health issues caused by smoke, and environmental problems. These benefits could contribute to development through alleviating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, enhancing good health and sustainable ecosystems and mitigating climate change. The study recommends the promotion of cleaner cooking stoves, particularly gasifiers, among households in rural areas while paying attention to user needs and preferences

Human Infection with Rickettsia felis, Kenya

This flea-borne pathogen was detected in febrile patients in North Eastern Province, Kenya

Innovative biomass cooking approaches for sub-Saharan Africa.

Eradicating poverty and achieving food and nutrition security in a sustainable environment is difficult to achieve without adequate access to affordable cooking fuel. It is therefore important to understand the common sources of cooking energy used by people in rural areas and the challenges faced in making fuel sources economically viable, socially acceptable and ecologically sustainable. In the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, more than 90% of the population relies on firewood and charcoal (wood fuel, collectively) as a primary source of domestic energy. Wood fuel sustainability is challenged by unsustainable harvesting and inefficient methods of converting wood into energy. The use of inefficient cook stoves contributes to wood wastage and smoke exposure associated with severe illnesses. Households often abandon traditional nutritious diets that take a long time to cook, reduce the number of meals, and spend income on fuel at the expense of food costs. Innovations exist that have the potential to provide affordable and cleaner tree-based cooking fuel. Pruning trees on the farm as a fuel source brings firewood closer to women, lightens their workload, saves time and reduces income spent on cooking fuel. Using briquettes or gas cook stoves can reduce health risks associated with food preparation and reduce income spent on cooking fuel due to increased fuel efficiency. The development of these innovations indicates the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to increase awareness of the benefits of cooking fuel innovations, encourage further research on product quality enhancement and standardization, to understand cultural and behavioral issues influencing adoption, and integrate innovations into bioenergy policy frameworks