| dc.description.abstract | Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) was introduced to promote economic empowerment of women
by providing alternative financial services. Loan repayment rate of Kisumu town East
Constituency declined from 128% to 118% between September, 2012 and April, 2013 and from
position 9 to 23 respectively. During this period the highest repayment rate was 157% and 152%
respectively. Previous studies have not looked at preference of WEF as a source of funds, loan
repayment rate of Kisumu Town East Constituency against other constituencies with higher
repayment rate and its declining repayment rate. Studies on utilization of WEF funds as well
have not included financial intermediaries to their target populations. This research therefore
investigated the extent to which WEF is a preferred source of finance, extent to which WEF
loans were being repaid, factors that affected utilization of WEF loans and factors that affected
repayment of WEF loans. Entrepreneurship Innovation theory anchored the study. Kisumu Town
East Constituency was selected because it was convenient to the researcher and also due to the
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distribution channel of WEF. Descriptive research design was used in the study. The target
population consisted of257 groups between the years May 2009 to April 2013, 10 credit officers
from financial intermediaries and 1 WEF staff. Census was carried out to collect data. Data were
collected through questionnaires and interviews. Validity test revealed respondents' knowledge
of the tools, while Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient was 0.=.760 for women preference;
loan repayment was 0.=850 and for loan utilization 0.=.756, meaning items tested were reliable.
Data.were analyzed using descriptive statistics using mean, mode and median and presented in
percentages, tables and graphs. The study found-that 63.l6% of the respondents highly preferred
WEF as a source of funds and 95.95% of loans were being repaid well. Insufficient funding,
training, small.loan amount, security, leadership problems and econo~y had a mean value above
3.0 implying they greatly influenced utilization of WEF funds. Economy, lack of strong legal
framework of Constituency Women Enterprise Scheme and lack of individual choices in group
lendingwere found to have the most influence on loan repayment rate as they had a mean value
above 3.0. The study concludes that WEF is a preferred source of funds with a high repayment
rate. The study recommends increased loan amounts, standardization of training and improved
security. It's hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to the performance information
ofWEF. | en_US |
