An Establishment of Barriers Affecting Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Utilisation of Lusaka Securities Exchange Alternative Market in Lusaka City

This study examined barriers that affected MSMEs utilisation of LuSE Alt-M in Lusaka city, Zambia. The primary objectives of the study were to assess the level of awareness among MSMEs about the existence of LuSE Alt-M in Lusaka city, to examine why MSMEs are not utilising the LuSE Alt-M in Lusaka city and to suggest strategies that may mitigate the non-utilisation of LuSE’s Alt-M in Lusaka city. The study was guided by the pragmatic philosophy so as to provide practical solutions to the barriers affecting MSMEs utilisation of LuSE Alt-M. A cross-sectional, convergent mixed-method approach was employed. A response rate of 74% was achieved, with 290 completed questionnaires. The quantitative sample size, determined using Yamane’s formula at a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error, comprised of 391 MSMEs drawn from a population of 17,643 MSMEs registered with the Zambia Revenue Authority, with turnovers between K800,000 and K50,000,000, based in Lusaka, the country’s commercial hub. Qualitative data saturation was reached after 12 interviews with key informants. Stratified random sampling was employed for quantitative data collection while purposive sampling was used for qualitative data. Quantitative data from survey questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS version 27, while qualitative data obtained from interviews with capital market specialists were analyzed thematically, enabling triangulation of findings. The findings revealed that 63.4% of MSMEs in Lusaka were either strongly unaware or unaware of LuSE Alt-M’s existence, and 71.4% lacked knowledge of its benefits. The study further revealed that awareness (r = .677, p