Financial Services Accessibility And Financial Performance Of Small And Medium Enterprises In Kiambu County, Kenya

Despite their positive contribution, the operation of Small and Medium Enterprises has been confronted by various challenges such as loan repayment default, inadequate capital as well as the persistent regulations which negatively affects their performance leading to high failure rate of one for every five startups within three years. The SMEs in Kiambu County have similar challenges though operating in a densely populated County. Consequently, their performance is negatively affected. The study purposed to examine the influence of financial accessibility on success of SMEs in Kiambu County, Kenya. The research specifically identified the effect of access to credit, access to insurance and explore the influence of entrepreneurial training on financial performance of SMEs in Kiambu County, Kenya. The research was underpinned on Credit Access Theory, Asymmetric Information Theory and Bank Lending Channel Theory. Using a causal research design, this research study targeted a population of 2750 registered SMEs in Kiambu County. Stratified random sampling approach was employed where 10% (275) respondents participated in the study. Both descriptive analysis and multiple regression analysis were adopted in data analysis. Charts and tables were utilized to present research results. The study findings indicate that access to credit has a positive and significant effect on SMEs financial performance with a p- value 0.025 < 0.05. On access to business insurance, the study found that in case of damages, SMES that have insurance will have improved performance. This is shown by a p- value 0.000. < 0.05. Entrepreneurial training has a positive and significant effect on SMES performance in Kiambu County. The study nevertheless recommends for enhanced entrepreneurial training, insurance and more credit to improve performance