Entrepreneurship is regarded as a major contributor to economic growth and reduces poverty in urban and rural areas in Kenya. Women entrepreneurship is also growing at a higher rate within the country and in the world.
However, the lending process for women is complicated and the chances of obtaining loans are also low. This is because some of them do not understand the process of borrowing and what is required of them to attain loans.
Some of the factors that inhibit credit to Kenyan women entrepreneurs are:
1.Low financial literacy levels
Education has a great influence on the success of entrepreneurship. Women of little to no education are inhibited from running a successful business. This is because education determines level of skill; in this case knowledge on money matters. Low skill levels limit their access to financial support and credit services.
2.Lack of information
Information is important in the provision of financial services. Lack of awareness about loans and financial schemes from the responsible institution limits the efforts made by women in trying to attain these loans.
3.Gender-based obstacles
This may be ignored but it is actually a reason why women have challenges when looking to apply for loans. Conventional thinking, cultural and social values have a role in inhibiting women accessibility to loans and credits.
4.Lack of personal collateral
Most collateral assets that are used in obtaining loans from financial institutions are land and houses or cars, most of these are registered under the men who are the family leaders. Therefore, there are challenges when the ladies need to use them to obtain loans.
5.Cumbersome lending procedures
This could be common to any entrepreneur who seeks to attain credit services from institutions but it takes a toll on women. There is a lot of paperwork, many hours spent waiting in the bank for responses and sometimes the loans are not guaranteed even after these procedures. Good news is that there is fast loan processing like the Merchant Cash Advance.
To overcome these challenges, financial institutions should dedicate some time and finances to train women entrepreneurs about investment so that they can increase the knowledge and ability of women to achieve credit.
