BUSINESS INCUBATION SERVICES AND THE GROWTH OF MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISE IN KENYA

Abstract

Micro and Small businesses are key players in Kenya’s economy. Historically, the research focus has been on small businesses that failed rather than those which have thrived. While small businesses have been susceptible to high failure rates, there exists resurgence in the survivability of small businesses. Small businesses are now succeeding at unprecedented rates. One of the reasons for this paradigm shift can be attributed to the advent of business incubators. In Kenya business incubation is gaining prominence in Government policy, private sector and the academia. This study sought to shed light about the business incubation in Kenya and the growth of the Micro and Small enterprises. The research design was both descriptive and correlational where a sample of 127 incubatee businesses from the target population of 189 public and private incubator businesses in Nairobi County was selected using systematic random sampling. For data collection, questionnairesbased on Likert scales were used as research tools. A pilot test was carried out to test the validity and reliability of the research instruments and corrections done on the questionnaire. Data was tabulated and analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis to show the relationship between the independent variables as well as their effects on the dependent variable. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. The study findings indicated that there is a positive relationship between variables; managerial skills, infrastructural facilities, technology services and market linkages to the growth of SMEs in Kenya. Recommendation is that, incubators should act as entrepreneurship and technological information hubs and be considered as service providers and partner with the academia, NGOs, churches and youth entrepreneurship programs.