Abstract:
Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) developed a three year strategic plan in 2008 in order to address various needs and aspirations of the youth and to address the challenges it had faced in the past. It was currently working on a 5 year strategic plan in line with the Medium Term Plan (MTP) of the Vision 2030. The fund constantly reviews its operational mechanisms in order to make it responsive to needs and expectations of the youth. This is in order to achieve its vision of creating a sustainable and growing fund, which would economically empower Kenyan Youth and their strategic partnerships. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of YEDF on the performance of youth owned enterprises specifically exploring the factors that influence youth owned enterprises. The variables used to study were turnover of an enterprise, access to credit, market linkages, employment created and age of the enterprise. With the use of ordinary least squares in estimation, the study used collected secondary data which involved a sample of 42 youth owned SMEs in the area. The study results show access to credit and market linkages as being statistically significant factors that influence youth enterprise performance. The study concludes that YEDF plays an important role in improving youth enterprises through the positive and significant relationship revealed by market linkages and access to credit. Therefore, the study recommends the development of clear National Development objectives to meet the special needs of the Youth owned enterprises through formal policies and regulations that guarantee achievement of the expected results.
