IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cwk/eafjke/2026-17.html

Credit Access in Self-Help Groups and Community-Based Organizations in Makueni County, Kenya: Challenges and Opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Mwangangi, Christine Wavinya

    (School of Business and Economics, Daystar University)

Abstract

Access to credit remained a critical factor influencing the growth and sustainability of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in Makueni County, Kenya. Despite their important role in promoting social cohesion and local development, many faced persistent challenges in obtaining adequate and affordable credit to support income-generating activities. This study investigated credit access in SHGs and CBOs in Makueni County, examining both the challenges and opportunities influencing their financial inclusion and development outcomes. The study was guided by four objectives: to examine institutional factors influencing credit access; to determine the effect of group governance on credit access; to assess the influence of financial literacy on credit access; and to explore opportunities for improving credit access. A descriptive research design was adopted, targeting 180 registered SHGs and CBOs, from which 120 respondents were selected through stratified and purposive sampling. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis via SPSS. Correlation results revealed that institutional governance had a strong positive relationship with credit access (r = 0.63, p

Suggested Citation

  • Mwangangi, Christine Wavinya, 2026. "Credit Access in Self-Help Groups and Community-Based Organizations in Makueni County, Kenya: Challenges and Opportunities," East African Finance Journal, East African Finance Journal, vol. 5(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:cwk:eafjke:2026-17
    DOI: 10.59413/eafj/v5.i2.3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ijcsacademia.com/index.php/eafj/article/view/567
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.59413/eafj/v5.i2.3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Karugu Ndungu & Charles Katua Kithandi & Molson Onchomba, 2025. "Cost Leadership Strategies and Credit Access Among Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Nairobi City County, Kenya," East African Finance Journal, East African Finance Journal, vol. 4(4).
    2. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    3. Joshua Nzuki & Charles Kithandi, 2025. "Project Management Practices and Performance of CDF-Funded Educational Infrastructure Projects in Mavoko Constituency, Kenya," African Journal of Commercial Studies, African Journal of Commercial Studies, vol. 6(6).
    4. Naftal Nyarangi Oino & Charles Katua Kithandi, 2025. "Firm Size and Sustainability Reporting in the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya," African Journal of Commercial Studies, African Journal of Commercial Studies, vol. 6(5).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ndwiga, Steve Mbogo, 2026. "Digital Lending and Financial Performance of Small Retail Businesses in Nairobi Central Business District, Kenya," African Journal of Commercial Studies, African Journal of Commercial Studies, vol. 7(3).
    2. Janvier D. Nkurunziza, 2005. "Reputation and Credit without Collateral in Africa`s Formal Banking," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2005-02, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    3. Cowling, Marc, 2010. "The role of loan guarantee schemes in alleviating credit rationing in the UK," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 36-44, April.
    4. Jiao Wang & Lima Zhao & Arnd Huchzermeier, 2021. "Operations‐Finance Interface in Risk Management: Research Evolution and Opportunities," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(2), pages 355-389, February.
    5. Djimoudjiel, Djekonbe & T. Rostand, Dany Dombu & MBATINA NODJI, NDILENGAR, 2024. "What lessons does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about banking liquidity and information share in the CEMAC zone?," MPRA Paper 119666, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Jan 2024.
    6. Cowling, Marc & Ughetto, Elisa & Lee, Neil, 2018. "The innovation debt penalty: Cost of debt, loan default, and the effects of a public loan guarantee on high-tech firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 166-176.
    7. Kong, Dongmin & Pan, Yue & Tian, Gary Gang & Zhang, Pengdong, 2020. "CEOs' hometown connections and access to trade credit: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Soedarmono, Wahyoe & Machrouh, Fouad & Tarazi, Amine, 2013. "Bank competition, crisis and risk taking: Evidence from emerging markets in Asia," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 196-221.
    9. Fei Lan & Shiqi Lan & Yukai Gong, 2025. "Open government data and firm value: A quasi‐natural experiment from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 65(3), pages 2281-2305, September.
    10. Charles A.E. Goodhart & Dimitrios P. Tsomocos & Xuan Wang, 2023. "Support for small businesses amid COVID‐19," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(358), pages 612-652, April.
    11. Richard K. Green & Susan M. Wachter, 2005. "The American Mortgage in Historical and International Context," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(4), pages 93-114, Fall.
    12. Chan-Jane Lin & Tawei Wang & Chao-Jung Pan, 2016. "Financial reporting quality and investment decisions for family firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 499-532, June.
    13. Djedjiga Kachenoura & David Chetboun & Marine Lagarde & Laurent Mélère & Damien Serra, 2024. "Les politiques financières et réglementaires face aux enjeux climatiques," Post-Print hal-05421553, HAL.
    14. LaDue, Eddy L. & Allen, Sandra, 1993. "Regulatory, Efficiency, and Management Issues Affecting Rural Financial Markets," Staff Papers 121348, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    15. Myint Moe Chit, 2018. "Political openness and the growth of small and medium enterprises: empirical evidence from transition economies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 781-804, September.
    16. Song Zhang & Liang Han & Konstantinos Kallias & Antonios Kallias, 2021. "The value of in-person banking: evidence from U.S. small businesses," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1393-1435, November.
    17. Xin Qu & Majella Percy & Fang Hu & Jenny Stewart, 2022. "Can CEO equity‐based compensation limit investment‐related agency problems?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2579-2614, June.
    18. Maya Eden, 2017. "Misallocation and the Distribution of Global Volatility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 592-622, February.
    19. Römer, Ulf & Weber, Ron & Mußhoff, Oliver & Turvey, Calcum G., 2017. "Truth and consequences: Bogus pipeline experiment in informal small business lending," DARE Discussion Papers 1702, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    20. Felicitas NOWAK-LEHMANN D. & Inma MARTÍNEZ-ZARZOSO & Dierk HERZER & Stephan KLASEN & Axel DREHER, 2010. "Foreign Aid and Its Effect on Per-Capita Income (Growth) in Recipient Countries: Pitfalls and Findings from a Time Series Perspective," EcoMod2010 259600121, EcoMod.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cwk:eafjke:2026-17. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Charles G. Kamau (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ijcsacademia.com/index.php/eafj .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.