Complementing business training with access to finance: Evidence from SMEs in Kenya

Ashraf, Anik und Lyons, Elizabeth (2026): Complementing business training with access to finance: Evidence from SMEs in Kenya. In: Journal of Development Economics, Bd. 179, 103645

Abstract

This paper investigates the complementarity between business training and timely access to financial capital for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya. All participants in the business support program we study are offered training. One-third of participants are offered loans immediately after training (Concurrent Loan group), one-third are offered loans six weeks after training (Delayed Loan group), and the remaining third are offered loans after another four weeks (Control group). While a long time lag may reduce knowledge retention and application among SMEs, concurrent access to loans and associated business spending may divert the entrepreneurs’ attention away from improving business practices. We find evidence for the latter in both intention-to-treat and treatment-on-the-treated estimates. While SMEs in both Control and Delayed Loan groups improve their business practices, SMEs in the Concurrent Loan group who take loans do not improve their practices at all. Moreover, entrepreneurs who take loans spend less time on their businesses and experience declines in their business revenue.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Volkswirtschaft > Munich Discussion Papers in Economics > Mikroökonomik
• Themengebiete: 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 330 Wirtschaft
• ISSN: 03043878
• Sprache: Englisch
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 280092119