Articles: Postgraduate student articles
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Browsing Articles: Postgraduate student articles by Author "Kariuki, Samuel N."
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Item Equity financing and financial performance of small and medium enterprises in Embu Town, Kenya.(2017-05) Njagi, Irene K.; Maina, Kimani E.; Kariuki, Samuel N.Capital structure comprise of a mix of debt and equity. Managers used various combinations of debt and equity that increases the net worth of business at the same time reduces the cost of obtaining finance. Financial decisions affected the financial performance of SMEs but vary from one firm to another. This is due to the limited access to finances and ability of the manager to fully utilize the resources available. SMEs are of significance to the economic development of any state regardless of the development status. Despite their importance SMEs are characterized with slow growth rate and three out of five SMEs fail in their first three years of operation. The continued poor performances have led to decline in growth and eventually death of the SMEs. The growth of the SMEs highly depended on the investment decisions made by the entrepreneurs and lack of access to finances has created financial gaps that have fueled the challenges that SMEs face. The study therefore analyzed the effect of equity financing on financial performance of SMEs in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population of study was 300 SMEs from which a sample size of 60 SMEs was drawn. Pretesting of the research instrument was done to determine the reliability of the questionnaire by use of Cronbach alpha coefficient. Content validity of the questionnaire was used to ensure that the questionnaire answered the research questions. The primary data was collected using self-administered questionnaire while secondary data was obtained from audited financial statements and analyzed by use of SPSS. Data analyzed capture descriptive statistic which included mean, standard deviation and variance. Inferential statistic included Pearson’s correlation and multiple regressions. The study revealed that SMEs had greater preference for contribution from friends and ploughing back profit as a source of equity finance. Angel investors as a form of equity financing has not gained acceptance as a source of finance. From the study it was evident that equity finance had a positive relationship to financial performance of the SMEs. Equity offered a lifelong financing option with no or minimal cash outflow inform of interest. The study also noted that the performance of the SMEs was largely affected by the source of finance and the liquidity position of the business. The study therefore recommended that SMEs should embrace angel investors as equity financiers since they provide the start-up capital to the SMEs. Angel investors also provide managerial and book keeping skills to the entrepreneurs thus enhancing the accountability and efficient use of the financial resources at hand. The financial institutions need to create awareness and educate the entrepreneurs on other products available to finance the SMEs.Item Interest rate regulation and sustainability of microfinance institutions in Nairobi County, Kenya.(2017-05) Kathomi, Ann; Maina, Kimani E.; Kariuki, Samuel N.Microfinance Institutions services have continued to play an important role in Kenyan economy. It is viewed as the provision of financial services to the poor and low income group. Microfinance Institutions in Kenya have gained wide recognition since 1990’s for the role they play in providing financial services to the low-income households, and their contribution to poverty alleviation. Despite this vital role, the interest rates charged by the MFIs in Kenya have been relatively high ranging between 20% - 30%. This has raised concerns with policy makers on how MFIs can fulfill their social obligations while charging their clients interest rates that are higher than those offered by non-microfinance institutions such as traditional commercial banks and SACCOs. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of interest rate regulation and sustainability of microfinance institutions in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study was guided by liquidity preference theory. The study employed a cross - sectional descriptive survey research design. The target was 49 microfinance institutions operating in Nairobi County, Kenya. A census was conducted on all the 49 microfinance institutions in Nairobi County. The primary data was collected by use of questionnaires whereas secondary data was collected by use of a record survey sheet. Pretesting was done to determine the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study established that changes in interest rates by the government affected sustainability of MFIs. The Pearson correlation and ANOVA results showed that the relationship of lending rate and sustainability of MFIs is negative and statistically significant. This means that increasing the interest rate reduces the return thus rendering the MFIs unsustainable. The government and other policymakers should come up with better interest rates policies that will make MFIs more sustainable.Item Product innovations and financial performance of savings and credit co-operatives societies in Kirinyaga County,(2017-05) Ngure, Francis Kimani; Maina, Kimani E.; Kariuki, Samuel N.Product innovations are crucial to sustain organizations’ financial performance and raise their competitive strengths. SACCOS are the main drivers of economic and social development in rural areas of developing countries. In Kenya 81% of the population rely on the SACCOs to access financial services. However the use of SACCOs by Kenyans as a financial service provider has been declining. The SACCOs are faced with challenges of survival due to decline of members. The decline is attributed to the competition from banks which have embraced financial innovations. The study therefore investigated the effect of product innovations on financial performance of SACCOs in Kenya. The study adopted cross sectional descriptive survey research design. The target population was 60 SACCOs registered by SASRA to operate in Kirinyaga County. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used to obtain the sample size of fifty two SACCOs for the study. Primary data was collected using self-administered questionnaires while secondary data was obtained from audited financial statements. Primary and secondary data was analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study revealed that product innovations were positively correlated to financial performance. The study will be of great importance to Policy maker in developing SACCO’s financial innovations regulatory framework. SACCO Managers will be able to adopt the product innovations that will improve financial performance of the SACCOs and their competitiveness. The study will further enlighten researchers with relevant information regarding product innovations. The study recommends that SACCOs should embrace product innovations in order to improve their financial performance. SACCOs should therefore introduce new deposit accounts in order to increase the amount of deposits. The SACCOs should also introduce credit cards and debit cards in order to increase their revenue. Similarly, the SACCOs should introduce electronic fund transfer since they have a positive effect of increasing commission fee based income