Factors Affecting the Delivery of Business Development Services to Agribusiness Based Micro and Small Enterprises In Kenya: A Case Study of Technoserve Kenya

A Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Executive Master of Science in Organizational Development (EMOD)The purpose of the study was to determine factors that affect the delivery of business development services provided to agribusiness based MSEs in Kenya. The study was guided by the following research questions: What is the impact of the different business development services provided to agribusiness based MSEs in Kenya? How does the design and implementation strategy affect the delivery of business development services provided to agribusiness based MSEs in Kenya? What are the challenges affecting the delivery of business development services provided to agribusiness based MSEs in Kenya? The study used a descriptive case study design. The total population for this study consisted of 16100 beneficiaries of Project Nurture, which is one of the projects in TechnoServe [TNS]. The target farmers were based in Central/ Eastern, Coast and Rift Valley regions of Kenya. The target population was identified through the beneficiary list kept by TechnoServe. Stratified random sampling technique was used to determine a sample of four hundred and thirty three (433) beneficiaries from whom the primary data was collected by use of questionnaires. The sample size was sub divided into three strata representing the regions based on the number of beneficieries. Means, frequency distribution and percentages were utilised in the descriptive analysis part of the study. Inferential statistics used were in the form of correlation and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for relationships and significant differences among the groups. The study results were presented in form of tables and figures. The first research question was to determine the impact of Business Development Services offered by TechnoServe on the agro based Micro and Small Enterprises in Kenya. The study showed that business development services had a positive impact on the MSEs marketing outcomes; production systems; and inbound supply management. The foregoing results were statistically significant at p <.05 level. On the other hand the study indicated that the respondents were neutral as to the influence of business development services on knowhow of legal regulatory systems and the findings were statistically significant at p<.05 level. The second research question of the study was to determine how design and implementation strategy affected the delivery of business development services provided to agribusiness based MSEs. The study indicated that service differention; human resources strategy; implementation strategy; participatory approach strategies are being used to enhance delivery of business development services. The findings were statistically significant at p<0.05 level. The third research question of the study was to identify the challenges affecting the delivery of BDS. The study indicated physical access challenge; financial institution challenges and IT challenges as the major factors that hinder effective delivery of the business development services. The results were statistically significant at p<0.05 level. On the other hand the respondents were neutral that social amenities challenges affect delivery of business development services. The study revelaed that organizational weakness such as lack of innovative services and lack of clear focus on the service outcomes does not affect delivery of business development services. In conclusion, the study revealed that the business development services offered by TechnoServe as good and they had a positive impact on the MSEs in terms of increased sales, profitability and customer satisfaction. The ANOVA test did not reveal any statistical difference across the three regions at p <.05 level. The study recommended that areas such as legal systems support should be enhanced to ensure optimum business output. The study recommended that external challenges could be mitigated through lobbying the National and County governments to invest more in the infrastructure I the rural areas. Finally, the current study only looked at the Project Nurture managed by TechnoServe. Further studies on other projects and organizations would be encouraged