Entrepreneurship Education on Women Entrepreneurs at Pre-Primary and Primary Level in Kenya

Abstract

Women entrepreneurs have bean designated as the new engines for growth and a rising stars of the economies in developing countries to bring prosperity and welfare. This study was designed to investigate entrepreneurship education on women entrepreneurs at pre-primary and primary level in women-owned micro and small enterprises in Kenya. Entrepreneurship education support graduates, existing and potential entrepreneurs to create and run their own business rather than expecting employment from government, private or NGOs. It helps provide knowledge and skills for running a business, example business law, accounting and bookkeeping, credit and finance and marketing. The study hypothesis that, lack of adequate entrepreneurship education on women entrepreneurs at pre-primary and primary level is the major cause of high failure rate of micro and small enterprises owned by women. In Kenya, for example the MSEs contributed over 50 percent of new jobs created in 2005 but despite their significance, MSEs are faced with the threat of failure with past statistics indicating that three out of five fail within the first few months. The study used descriptive survey design. A sample of 120 women entrepreneurs was taken from Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, using stratified and simple random sampling. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured self administered questionnaire and face to face interview. The research found that there is no entrepreneurship education in pre-primary and primary school levels in Kenya.

Keywords: Women Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, micro and small enterprises