The Role of Banks in Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya: A Case of Cooperative Bank of Kenya

Abstract

The study aimed to establish the role of banks in empowering women entrepreneurs in Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in Umoja market in Nairobi, Kenya- A case of Cooperative Bank of Kenya. The questions explored were i) What role has Cooperative Bank of Kenya (Westlands Branch) played in empowering SMEs owned by women entrepreneurs in Umoja market in Nairobi, Kenya ii) How many small scale women entrepreneurs in Umoja market has Cooperative bank (Westlands Branch) assisted so far iii) In which industry do these small scale women entrepreneurs mainly operate iv) What challenges has Cooperative bank faced in pursuing such endeavours v)What can be recommended to Cooperative bank and other lending institutions in the future. Random sampling approach was applied and 100 women entrepreneurs were picked. Questionnaires and interview methods were used as the main data collecting instruments. Findings revealed that Cooperative bank has helped finance many small scale women entrepreneurs in Umoja market, SMEs in Umoja are mainly sole proprietorships operating businesses such as: salons, food outlets, transport, clothing shops among others, the challenges faced by the bank are mainly: nonpayment, diversion of funds, poor financial management among others.Among the recommendations put forward are: extension of loan repayment period, giving of loans in terms of assets, educating customers on the importance of loan repayment, training women entrepreneurs in areas of finance, budgeting and general management aspects and further research in this field.