EFFECT OF CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON LOAN PERFORMANCE OF WOMEN ENTERPRISE FUND IN KENYA: A SURVEY OF WOMEN GROUPS IN NAKURU TOWN SUB-COUNTY

Abstract

Women Enterprise Fund as any other credit business is exposed to credit risks. Credit advanced to women by WEF come along with credit risk challenges. How the fund has handled these risks challenges among women is not adequately researched compared to other enterprises or corporations. To the researcher knowledge, there is little documented study done on effect of credit risk management on loan performance of Women Enterprise Fund, much of the work done relating to credit risk management practices on financial performance of commercial banks and microfinance institutions creating a research gap. The objective of the study was to analyze effect of credit risk management practices on loan performance of Women Enterprise Fund in Kenya. More specifically, the study was to analyze loan appraisal procedure, loan recovery procedure, savings rate and interest rate on loan performance of Women Enterprise Fund in Kenya. The study adopted the following theories for the analysis of the objectives; financial economic theory, credit risk theory, adverse selection theory of credit, credit default theory and capital asset pricing theory. One limitation was adequacy of the sample size for generalization of results for the entire women groups in other Sub-Counties by funded WEF. The study delimited this challenge by using representative sample. The study adopted a quantitative longitudinal research design taking women groups funded by Women Enterprise Fund as the target population. The study collected primary data 99 women groups. Regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The findings from the study will inform the policies of the Women Enterprise Fund as government revolving funds on effect of credit risk management practices on loan performance and also broaden scholarship knowledge in the fields like Micro Finance, Developmental Finance and Economics. The study established that saving and lending rates contributed significantly towards loan performance index, this was because saving rate had P=0.0.047<0.05 and P=0.0.000<0.05 respectively indicating that the frequency of women groups savings and the lending rate by WEF contributed significantly towards loan performance index of Women Enterprise Fund Nakuru Town East.