Strategies for Accessing Credit by Small and Medium Enterprises

Small and medium enterprise business owners play an important role in the Kenyan economy as they account for approximately 78 percent of total employment and 57 percent of the new jobs created. Despite their significant contribution, SME business owners face enormous challenges as such as access to credit, which affects their businesses. This study adopted a qualitative research paradigm with a multiple case study design to explore the strategies Kenyan SME business owners used to access credit to improve the profitability and growth of their businesses. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data from a sample of four SME owners of businesses located in Kakamega Town, Kenya, who have had access to credit. Company documents were used as supplementary data. All interpretations from the data were subjected to member checking to ensure the reliability of the findings. The research findings revealed that SME business owners face challenges in accessing credit to sustain their businesses because of the higher collateral requirements demanded by banks as a condition for lending. The study recommended that SME owners use their education and professional background, information access and group lending strategies to access credit to improve the profitability and growth of their businesses.