Effects Of Entrepreneurship Training, Education And Loans On Performance Of Youth Owned Enterprises In Malawi The Case Of Dowa District

Abstract

Youth entrepreneurship is one of the key ingredients in job creation in Malawi. It is the gateway from being an employee to self-employed. However, there are several factors that affect youth entrepreneurship. These are entrepreneurship social cultural, training, education, and business loans among others. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of entrepreneurship training, education, and loans on the performance of youth owned enterprises in Dowa. Specifically, the study analysed the training programmes and education for youth entrepreneurship, assessed the impact of loans accessed by youth entrepreneurs as well as the relationship between entrepreneurship training and performance of youth-owned enterprises. A survey of 80 youth-owned enterprises was undertaken using self-administered questionnaires to collect data. The results showed that youth entrepreneurs have adequate technical skills because of the vocation training provided but the training did not have much emphasis on entrepreneurship. The study further showed that few youths had access to loans and those that accessed the loans, used the loans to make initial capital expenditures of the business, which in-turn did not boost their businesses. It was also revealed that poor financial management skills and family background hampered the performance of their enterprises at large. The findings demonstrate that it is imperative for finance lending institutions to develop deliberate policies to provide substantial capital to youth-owned enterprises which can cater for initial business set-up and subsequent trading. To enhance the performance of youth owned enterprises, the study recommends the provision of financial management and entrepreneurship training, as well as financial support to youth entrepreneurs.