Service Quality And The Performance Of Women Enterprise Fund In Kisumu County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Access to finance by women is very fundamental in ensuring they create sustainable enterprises and meaningfully contribute to economic growth of the country. This study aimed to assess the effect of service quality on the performance of the Women Enterprise Fund, in Kisumu County, one of the programs implemented by the government of Kenya to empower women economically through enabling their access to affordable credit. The objectives of the study were to assess the effects of four variables of service quality, namely; reliability, responsiveness, empathy and assurance on the performance of Women Enterprise Fund in Kisumu. The study used descriptive survey research design while the target population of the study comprised of women groups and women entrepreneurs funded by the Women Enterprise Fund. The study adopted the balance score card, SERVQUAL and SERVPERF as theoretical guides in the measurement of the variables. Random sampling technique was adopted to select a sample size of the study from a population list of 919 women groups. Further, a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data which was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were presented on frequency distribution tables. The SERVPERF model is an important tool in understanding the applicability of service quality in the financial services industry and this includes government affirmative action funds like Women Enterprise Fund. Women Enterprise Fund needs to pay attention to all the four service quality management practices in its strategic outlook since this study has revealed that each had a significant association to the perception of service quality and a positive influence on performance. The study shows that all the service quality variables had significant correlation with the dependent variable of performance and any positive increase in each, improved performance . It is thus concluded that Women Enterprise Fund should seek to employ service quality strategies similar to those in commercial banks in order to ensure effective service delivery to their customers. This study utilizes a tool for the measurement of service quality and assesses the relationship between perceived service quality and how it influences WEF customer’s performance. From this and various other studies, SERVPERF appears to be a consistent and reliable scale to measure financial intermediary service quality, and has a useful diagnostic role to play in assessing and monitoring service quality in these institutions whether in the public or private sector.