https://lhsblogs.typepad.com/files/intro-to-theory-of-the-firm-1.pdf

Theory of the Firm

Globally, women have been recognized as key contributors toward livelihood and poverty eradication, especially in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to their great involvement and participation in micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that create employment and ultimately economic growth and development. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to establish the mediating role of social cohesion in the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Northern Uganda where physical collateral were destroyed by war.,The data for this study were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire from 395 women MSMEs who are clients of microfinance institutions in post-war communities in Northern Uganda, which suffered from the 20 years' Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency. The Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software was used to analyze the data and the measurement and structural equation models were constructed to test for the mediating role of social cohesion in the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities.,The results revealed that social cohesion significantly and positively mediate the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. The results suggest that the presence of social cohesion as a social collateral promotes microfinance accessibility by 14.6% to boost survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities where physical collateral were destroyed by war amidst lack of property rights among women. Similarly, the results indicated that social cohesion has a significant influence on survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. Moreover, when combined together, the effect of microfinance accessibility and social cohesion exhibit greater contribution towards survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. Indeed, social cohesion provides the social safety net (social protection) through which women can access business loans from microfinance institutions for survival and growth of their businesses.,This study concentrated mainly on women MSMEs located in post-war communities in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa with a specific focus on Northern Uganda. Women MSMEs located in other regions in Uganda were not sampled in this study. Besides, the study focused only on the microfinance industry as a major source of business finance. It ignored the other financial institutions like commercial banks that equally provide access to financial services to micro-entrepreneurs.,The governments in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where there have been wars should waive-off the registration and licensing fees for grass-root associations because such social associations may act as social protection tools through which women can borrow from financial institutions like the microfinance institutions. The social groups can provide social collateral to women to replace physical collateral required by microfinance institutions in lending. Similarly, the governments, development agencies, and advocates of post-war reconstruction programs in developing countries where there have been wars, especially in sub-Saharan Africa should initiate the provision of group business loans through the existing social women associations. This may offer social protection in terms of social collateral in the absence of physical collateral required by the microfinance institutions in lending. This may be achieved through partnership with the existing microfinance institutions operating in rural areas in post-war communities in developing countries. Additionally, advocates of post-war recovery programs should work with the existing microfinance institutions to design financial products that suit the economic conditions and situations of the women MSMEs in post-war communities. The financial products should meet the business needs of the women MSMEs taking into consideration their ability to fulfil the terms and conditions of use.,This study revisits the role of microfinance accessibility in stimulating survival of women MSMEs as an engine for economic growth in the presence of social cohesion, especially in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa where physical collateral were destroyed by war. It reveals the significant role of social cohesion as a social protection tool and safety net, which contributes to economic outcomes in the absence of physical collateral and property rights among women MSMEs borrowers, especially in post-war communities.

Microfinance accessibility, social cohesion and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Northern Uganda

Survival Strategies for Owners of Micro and Small Enterprises in Kenya by Samuel Too MBA, Eastern and Southern African Management Institute, 2008 BCom, University of Nairobi, 1996 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University October 2019 Abstract Micro and small enterprise (MSE) owners in Kenya are faced with a myriad of constraints that affect their survival for longer than the first 5 years. Owners of MSEs who are unable to identify and implement strategies may not succeed in sustaining their businesses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies owners of MSEs in Nairobi, Kenya, used to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. TheMicro and small enterprise (MSE) owners in Kenya are faced with a myriad of constraints that affect their survival for longer than the first 5 years. Owners of MSEs who are unable to identify and implement strategies may not succeed in sustaining their businesses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies owners of MSEs in Nairobi, Kenya, used to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. The conceptual framework for the study was the theory of constraints. Data were collected from 4 purposefully selected MSE owners in Nairobi, Kenya, through face-to-face, semistructured interviews, and review of field notes and company documents. Using thematic data analysis, the major themes that emerged were customer service, access to capital, and nearness to market. The implications of this study for positive social change include strategies for MSE owners to generate stable income for employees, new employment opportunities for job seekers, improved standards of healthcare and education for the community, and a positive lifestyle for the residents of Kenya. Survival Strategies for Owners of Micro and Small Enterprises in Kenya by Samuel Too MBA, Eastern and Southern African Management Institute, 2008 BCom, University of Nairobi, 1996 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University October 2019 Dedication I dedicate this doctoral study to my dearest family for their support and prayers. To my wife Emily for her true love, commitment, and continuous encouragement even when I doubted my strength. My daughter Tracy Too, who continuously checked on my progress while pursuing her studies. My son Ted Too who amazed me with his use of technology and kept reminding me to keep it simple. My son Titus Too for always reminding me to focus on the ultimate prize, the graduation day so that he can travel again to America. I also thank my entire extended family members for their encouragement and motivation. I give glory, thanks, and honor to my Almighty God for his provision, care, and protection during my entire journey. I went through the mountains and valleys, and in all circumstances, my God granted me victory. May Your name be always praised in Jesus name, Amen. Acknowledgments I want to thank the Almighty God for his love, care, and mercies that saw me complete this doctoral study. I am sincerely grateful and indebted to my Chair, Dr. Patsy Kasen, for the continuous encouragement that helped me focus even when I was about to give up. Thank you for your patience, time, and commitment that enabled me to finish my study. To the second committee members Dr. Mary Weber and Dr. Yvette Ghormely, for their invaluable support with timely feedback and words of encouragement. Thank you, Dr. David Blum, URR for your sharp reviews, attention to detail, and timely feedback that sharpened my focus on the process to meet the standards. Special thanks to Dr. Susan Davis and Dr. Freda Turner for program direction during my study. I would not have been here without the influential faculty members from Walden University. Special thanks to my friend Dr. JP Ong'ondi for his encouragement to soldier on and his sacrifice to proofread my work that helped me reached my best. I thank my classmates for their support with feedback during various cohort sessions. More importantly, I thank God and my family, who made this whole journey more endurable and became my pillar and source of strength when I was almost down.

/pdf/survival-strategies-for-owners-of-micro-and-small-55kbvb0yv0.pdf

Survival Strategies for Owners of Micro and Small Enterprises in Kenya

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of microfinance services on the socio-economic welfare of urban households in Malaysia. We distribute questionnaires to 400 respondents across three different urban areas in Malaysia in order to collect the relevant data for this study. Quota sampling is employed in the process of collecting the data. Incorporating income as a mediating variable into the model, the results show that most of the services provided by the microfinance institutions including microcredit, micro insurance and training have significant effect on socio-economic welfare. Income is also observed to have a significant impact on socio-economic welfare. With the exception of training, the microfinance services also have significant impact on income. The results further show that most of the microfinance services have indirect effect on welfare through income. The recommendations of this study are detailed in the body of the paper.

/pdf/the-impact-of-microfinance-services-on-socio-economic-12cdci0fiu.pdf

The Impact of Microfinance Services on Socio-Economic Welfare of Urban Vulnerable Households in Malaysia

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in the Nigerian economy, especially in terms of Employment, growth, productivity, and poverty alleviation. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Microfinance Banks (MFB) on the growth of SMEs in Lagos metropolis The data for this study was collected via questionnaires given to the owners of SMEs that had accounts with microfinance banks in Lagos metropolis. Out of 209 questionnaires distributed, 205 were viable and analyzed using the SPSS package. The questionnaire contained 2 sections. Section 1 for general information while section 2 contains questions on effects of micro-savings on financial performance, effects of microcredit on the financial performance of the SMEs, effects of training on the financial performance of the SMEs and financial performance. The outcome revealed that the savings among SMEs are encouraging because of higher interest rates compared to deposit banks, faster loan disbursement, failure of MFBs to conduct training for SMEs, while the majority of SMEs experienced financial growth using MFB products. Keywords: Small business, Microfinance banks, SME growth, Lagos metropolis

/pdf/the-impact-of-microfinance-banks-on-the-growth-of-small-and-1ibkzry3uk.pdf

The Impact of Microfinance Banks on the Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos Metropolis

A Research Project Submitted to the Department of Economic Theory in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Masters of Economics in Policy and Management, of Kenyatta University July, 2017

Shadrack Mwenda Mwilaria

Papers

Microfinance Institutions’ Social Intermediation and Micro and Small Enterprises Survival in Thika Town, Kenya