| dc.description.abstract | Over the past ten years, economic planners have realized the importance of the small enterprise
sector in achieving national economic development goals. However, more often than not lack of
capacity to tackle the challenges they face have led to the underperformance of the SMEs in the
country. Studies done in this area have not been specific at the local level where the business
environment is constantly evolving and giving rise to newer challenges that affect their
competitiveness. Therefore, this study was done to assess the challenges affecting the
competitiveness of SMEs in Baringo County. Specifically the study sought to; establish the
current challenges being experienced by SME's in the business environment; to determine the
extent to which these challenges affect the competitiveness of SMEs; and to determine extent to
which the strategies employed in response to these challenges by the SMEs affect their
competitiveness in Baringo County. The study employed survey research design targeting all the
2647 SMEs operating within Baringo County from where a sample comprising of 347
respondents was obtained using simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using
questionnaires and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of
Statistical Package for Social Scientists computer software version 21.0. The findings indicate
that the access to finance remain the most significant challenge affecting the competitiveness of
the SMEs in the area (β = 0.687, p=0.000, α = 0.05).The findings also revealed that lack of
formal business training and skills (β = 0.301; p = 0.000, α = 0.05) significantly affected the
competitiveness of the SMEs in the area. Findings also revealed that technology had a significant
impact on the level of competitiveness of the SMEs (β = -0.231 p = 0.000, α = 0.05). Finally, it
also emerged that access to market information (β = -0.540; p = 0.000, α = 0.05), was also a
significant challenge to the competitiveness of the SMEs in the area. The study concluded that all
the independent variables only explain 44% variation in the competitiveness of the SMEs. It is
recommended that stakeholders should do capacity building especially in terms of risk
management for the SMEs owners in order for them to be able carefully evaluate the risks in
their business and to motivate them to consider applying for more funds for the expansion of
their business. This training can also help them to come up with more realistic expansion plans
without affecting their competitiveness. The SMEs owners also need general training in business
management in order for them to strategically operate their businesses. More studies need to be
done to establish the influence of business training on the strategic investments decisions of the
SMEs in the area and also the influence of strategic relocation to potential areas on the
performance of the SMEs. | en_US |
