FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF WOMEN OWNED MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES IN WUKRO TOWN

Abstract

The study was investigated the factors affecting the performance of women owned micro and small enterprises the case of Wukro Town. .The researcher was keen on finding out an in- depth understanding of subjects on the factors affecting the performance of women owned MSEs. That’s why, the study employed mixed approach research design, thereby applying both quantitative (inferential statistics and descriptive statistics) and qualitative data. Stratified sampling and simple random sampling techniques were applied to nominate 362 the women small and micro enterprise owners. Furthermore, purposive sampling was employed to select 3 microfinance managers, five SME experts and 20 women developmental group members. Data were collected through questionnaire, focus group discussion, and interview. The collected data were, then, was tabulated with concise frequency, percentage, and mean descriptions and supported by regression analysis looking into which factor strongly affects women owned micro and small enterprises. According to the findings of the research, most women were found to be uneducated who did not have the necessary skills to run their business effectively. Moreover, the findings indicated that factors like inefficient implementation of government policies and programs, war elated factors, financial factors, technological factors, social and cultural factors were among the contributing factors that heavily affect the performance of women owned factors. In line with this, women had very limited access to loans and getting financial support. Eventually, the researcher recommended that revising existing policies to ensure they are inclusive and specifically address the challenges faced by women owned MSEs by creating targeted programs that provide financial aid, training, and resources tailored to women-owned MSEs, developing comprehensive training programs focused on entrepreneurship skills, financial literacy, and technological proficiency, creating specialized loan products with favorable terms for women owned MSEs Organize workshops aimed at enhancing financial literacy among women owned MSEs to improve their ability to manage finances and access funding, incorporating entrepreneurship education into school curricula, focusing on empowering young women with the skills and knowledge needed to start their own businesses as some of the measures to be taken so as to rehabilitate the performance of women owned MSEs.