Savings and Loans Companies in Ghana: The Nexus to Poverty Alleviation and Economic Empowerment of Micro-Businesses (Published)
The main objective of this study is to assess the role of Savings and Loans companies in the alleviation of poverty and how they economically empower micro-businesses in the Ghanaian economic space. The study chose the Cape Coast Metropolitan area, a major economic hub in Ghana as its case study. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach theory, the study also adopted the mixed method in data collection and analysis. A total of 288 respondents were used for the study. The results of the finding include among others that Savings and Loans companies have significantly alleviated poverty in the Metropolis; thereby, lifting the poor segments of the Metropolis from the cycle of poverty through the creation of jobs and the generation of income. Finally, it is recommended among others that due to the nature of the businesses of low-income customers, there should be regular visits by loan officers to customers to strengthen the relationship with the borrower, thereby encouraging repayment while simultaneously gathering information concerning the state of the business and household finances, all of which would promote a lower default rate.
Frederick Appiah and Kwabena Owusu (2022) Savings and Loans Companies in Ghana: The Nexus to Poverty Alleviation and Economic Empowerment of Micro-Businesses,, International Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Research, Vol.10, No.2, pp.,41-56,
Keywords: Economic Empowerment, Ghana, Poverty Alleviation, Savings, loans companies, micro-businesses
The Impacts of Ghanaian Culture, Traditions and Norms on Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs): A Case of the Female Entrepreneur (Published)
This study is to outline the effects of the Ghanaian culture, traditions and norms on small medium scale enterprise (SMEs), with special reference to the female entrepreneur. The study seeks to find out the effects of culture, traditions and norms brings on female entrepreneurs who operate small medium scale enterprises in Ghana. Female entrepreneurs have been identified as individuals that encounter more obstacles in starting and growing their businesses as compared to their male counterparts especially within the small scale business where they are predominantly employed. In finding a solution to the problems, the study will seek to find out shortfalls which affect females who own small scale businesses in Ghana. The study covered female entrepreneurs who owned and manage their own businesses at Adum (a suburb and heart of business district of Kumasi, the second largest city of Ghana). Both primary data which include interviews and questionnaires and secondary data such as internet, journals, news peppers and articles were used for the study. The result of the findings revealed that female entrepreneurs encounter some limitations in their businesses such as being a mother and at the same time an entrepreneur, fear of losing their husbands, perception of being home careers and difficulty in accessing loans. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that female entrepreneurs should be sensitive to the factors impinging on the performance of their businesses. Again, in order to effectively manage these factors, they should network with other entrepreneurs to help them build their capabilities and self-confidence.
Keywords: Female Entrepreneurs; Culture; Tradition and Norms; Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Ghana
PROACTIVE PERSONALITY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION: EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND STUDENT LEVEL AS MODERATORS (Published)
The study investigated the predictive relationship between proactive personality and entrepreneurial intention and the extent to which such a relationship was moderated by working status and level of student among 270 undergraduate students from three universities in Ghana. A descriptive correlational research design was used to investigate the problem in the study. Questionnaire was used to extract information from the participants. Confirmatory factor analysis via principal component method was used to determine the acceptability of each item on proactive personality and entrepreneurial intention scales. The result showed that all the items exceeded the acceptable threshold for retaining items for statistical analysis. Pearson correlation and hierarchical multiple regression tests were used to test the hypothesized relationships. Proactive personality was significantly and positively associated with entrepreneurial intention. Employment status and level of student related significantly with proactive personality and entrepreneurial intention. It was observed that employment status significantly moderated the relationship between proactive personality and entrepreneurial intention with the interactive model accounting for 10% of the total variance in entrepreneurial intention. However, student level did not significantly moderate the relationship between proactive personality and entrepreneurial intention with the interactive model accounting for only 0.3% of the total variance in entrepreneurial intention. The findings were consistent with the personality theory of entrepreneurship. The implications and limitations of the study have been discussed
Keywords: Employment Status, Ghana, entrepreneurial intention, proactive personality, student level
FUEL PRICE ADJUSTMENTS AND GROWTH OF SMES IN THE NEW JUABEN MUNICIPALITY, GHANA (Published)
Fuel as a major energy consumed has its price been unpredictable. Due to this unpredictability, policy makers always try to adjust its price to meet the prevailing world market prices. This study sought to evaluate fuel price adjustments and growth of SMEs in the New Juaben Municipality of Ghana. The specific objectives were to: find out whether fuel price adjustment affects SMEs negatively or positively, and explain the effect of fuel price adjustment on employment, turnover and output of SMEs in the New Juaben Municipality. This study was a social survey with a sample size of 204 and a purposive sampling was used to illicit information from respondents in which quantitative and qualitative analysis were undertaken. The results of the study showed that, increases in fuel price due fuel price adjustment result in increases in transportation costs, raw material costs, capital costs and other costs but have a negative relationship with consumer real income. In addition, increases in fuel price constrained the growth of SMEs. The study recommended that, government should take steps to subsidize the fuel costs of SMEs to enhance their growth which could lead to increase in employment. SMEs should be provided with managerial training to enhance their understanding of their activities
Keywords: Fuel Price Adjustments, Ghana, Growth, New Juaben Municipality, SMEs