The effects of rural enterprise development programmes on micro and small enterprises growth in Ejura Sekyeredumase Municipality in Ghana

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AUGUST, 2015
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Many development partners and donors in an attempt to accelerate economic growth in developing countries have made the promotion and development of Micro and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSEs) a major concern. This is because SMEs are recognized as “necessary engines for achieving national development goals such as economic growth, poverty alleviation, employment and wealth creation, leading to a more equitable distribution of income and increased productivity. This research therefore sought to examine the effects of Enterprise Development programmes on Micro and Small Enterprises Growth in Ghana. The research design used was descriptive. Out of a population of over 1000 Micro and Small Scale entrepreneurs who are clients of the NBSSI within Ejura Municipality, a sample of 120 SMEs were drawn for the study using purposive sampling. Questionnaires were the instruments used for data collection. At the end, the study found that the only area that respondents have seen significant improvement was record keeping practices. The study also found that as high as 98.3% of respondents never benefited from any financial management training. In the area of marketing and sales, only 29.2 percent benefited from workshops organised by the NBSSI. There was also very minimal training on leadership for SMEs within Ejura Sekyedumase Municipality. The study further revealed a moderate relationship between enterprise programmes and SMEs growth. The correlation value was 0.432. The R2 value was approximately 19% (0.19). In line with the above findings, it was recommended that enterprise programmes should not only target existing businesses but also young entrepreneurs with feasible business ideas. Again, consideration should be given to graduates from tertiary institutions. It is also important that donor and other support institutions embark on strict monitoring and evaluations of programmes to avoid misappropriation of funds.
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A thesis submitted to the Department of Marketing and Corporate Strategy, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management & Consulting).
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