EVALUATION OF FACTORS INFLUENCING SMALL AND MICRO ENTERPRISES’ CREDIT WORTHINESS BY COMMERCIAL BANKS IN NAKURU TOWN, KENYA
Abstract
Small and Micro Enterprises play a vital role in job creation and make significant contributions to economic
growth in developed and developing economies alike. However, one on the main challenges of small and micro
enterprise has been access to finances and capital. This study therefore sought to evaluate the factors
influencing Small and Micro Enterprises credit worthiness by commercial Banks in Nakuru Town, Kenya. The
specific objectives looked at: firm’s ownership, firm’s financial performance, credit information sharing and
central bank regulations to determine how they affect credit worthiness of Small and Micro Enterprises from the
perspective of commercial banks. The study was conducted among commercial banks in Nakuru Town using the
survey research design. The target population was 68 bank staff involved in Small and Micro Enterprise lending
who comprised of 34 credit managers and 34 Small and Micro Enterprise loans/relations officers; a census
design was used to select all the members of the target population for study. The study used questionnaire as a
collection tool of primary data. Data collected was coded and analyzed with the aid of computer programs
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and excel computer programs. Quantitative data was analyzed
using descriptive statistics which include frequencies and percentages. Chi square (x2
) analysis was then done
to determine how individual factors affected creditworthiness. Influence of independent variables on the
dependent variable was then computed using the multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study were
that the firm ownership, financial performance and credit information sharing had statistically significant
relationship with credit worthiness while CBK guidelines didn’t .The study therefore recommended that
commercial banks should develop a guideline for their SME clients outlining their criteria for determining
ownership characteristic and their respective scores.
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