Constraints to the Success of Women Small Scale Entrepreneurs in Kenya. A Case of Microfinance Institution Borrowers in Rongai District of Nakuru County, Kenya

The study aimed at determining the constraints to the success of women small scale entrepreneurs in Kenya with specific reference to micro finance Institution borrowers in Rongai District, Nakuru County, Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to determine five markets. The survey achieved the targeted sample size of 90 interviewees. Stratified sampling followed by simple random sampling was used to select the sample. A regression model was used and the findings revealed that the success level of women small scale entrepreneurs was sensitive to all the factors investigated. However, some determinants were more influential than others. The most significant variable was the level of education followed by well as business training. Keywords: Women Small Scale Entrepreneurs, Microfinance Institutions, constraints to the success leve

What Are the Implications of Working Capital Management on Liquidity Risk? A Case of Listed Commercial Banks in Kenya

Liquidity refers to a firm’s ability to fund increase in assets and meet obligations as they fall due. Working capital includes all the current assets and current liabilities. The study concentrated on Banks that were listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The study used a longitudinal research design for it involved taking repetitive measures overtime for the purpose of comparing returns over the periods.  The target population was made up of all the 9 NSE quoted commercial banks in Kenya; this was over a period of 10 years from 2002 to 2011.  The data was collected from secondary sources; these were published financial statements available at banking survey of Kenya.  The descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to measure variations.  Statistical inferences were drawn using correlation and regression analysis in analyzing the data and testing of hypotheses.  The key findings from the study were: debtors’ collection period and cash conversion cycle have significantly negative relationship with liquidity of quoted commercial banks; this means that more liquid banks take the shortest time to collect cash from their customers.  Creditors’ payment period have significantly positive relationship with liquidity of quoted commercial banks in Kenya, this implies that the longer the bank takes to pay its creditors, the more liquid it is.  The research recommends that the NSE commercial banks should maintain their current assets for meeting their short term obligation thereby increase their liquidity by shortening their debtors’ collection period and cash conversion cycle whereas increasing their creditors’ payment period for better liquidity position.    Findings of this study add to knowledge and understanding of the subject of working capital management and its implication on liquidity risk on NSE quoted commercial banks. Keywords: Working capital management, liquidity, Liquidity risk, quoted commercial bank

The Role of Knowledge Management towards the Achievement of Vision 2030: a Survey of Secondary School Drop Outs in Rongai District of Nakuru County, Kenya

Knowledge management  is the name of a concept in which an enterprise consciously and comprehensively gathers, organizes, shares, and analyzes its knowledge in terms of resources, documents, and  people skills. Knowledge management involves data mining and some method of operation to push information to users. A knowledge management plan involves a survey of corporate goals and a close examination of the tools, both traditional and technical that is required for addressing the needs of the company. The challenge of selecting a knowledge management system is to purchase or build software that fits the context of the overall plan and encourages employees to use the system and share information. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of knowledge management of secondary school dropouts in achieving vision 2030.The data obtained was presented using tables and graphs. Descriptive statistics were used, including percentages, ratios and frequencies. Data was presented using tables and graphs. University admission did not appear to be directly influenced by factors affecting completion and drop out. The trend of university admission therefore needs to be investigated further during future research. It can also be concluded from research undertaken that majority of new admissions is as a result of students dropping from other schools (represented by 21%), followed by low fees requirement of day secondary schools and proximity to schools. The study recommends that there is need for stakeholders in the educational sector to develop strong guidelines for collecting and coding data to ensure the data are accurate as possible and an incentive be created for schools to find out what happens to their students. Key Words: knowledge management, dropouts, vision 2030, Rongai, Nakuru County, Keny