Examining the Contribution of Interest Rate Capping Conditions on Financial Performance of Women-Owned Agribusiness SMEs in Nyeri Central Sub County, Kenya

• Main Authors: Richard M. Kiai, Kellen Kiambati
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: HATASO 2019-12-01
• Series: Management and Economics Research Journal
• Subjects: capacity building; credit; collateral; customer information
• Online Access: https://merj.scholasticahq.com/article/11534-examining-the-contribution-of-interest-rate-capping-conditions-on-financial-performance-of-women-owned-agribusiness-smes-in-nyeri-central-sub-county-kenya

Financial inclusion has remained a critical driver toward poverty reduction in an economy. There has also been much focus on financial inclusion of women as they tend to be marginalized by the mainstream financial institutions. Kenya on its part has achieved high levels of financial inclusion. Access to bank services has been easy and at a low cost. Till 2016, access to credit has also been easy for all persons with bankable ideas in all sectors including agriculture for either gender. However, this changed after the review of the Banking Act that introduced the interest rate capping in the financial market. The purpose focused on increased collateral requirement and additional customer information requirements on the financial performance of women-owned Agribusiness small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The target population of this study was 950 licensed women SMEs with a sample of 274 licensed SMEs. From the study, collateral requirement due to interest rate capping had a negative and statistically insignificant effect (r = -0.114, p = 0.079) on the financial performance. On a positive note, the study found that additional customer information requirement due to interest rate capping had a positive and statistically significant contribution (r = 0.437, p = 0.000) on financial performance of agribusiness SMEs. The study concluded that effective maintenance of financial records not only helps SMEs access credit but also help them improve performance. This study strongly recommends capacity building among women on maintenance of financial records as it will improve access to credit and performance of their businesses.