The Challenges in the Provision of Informal Hospitality Services to Socio-Economic Well-Being of Women Entrepreneurs in Kenya

Abstract

Women experience various challenges as they undertake entrepreneurship in both developed and developing worlds. Similar experiences have been reported in Kenya in this study where the objective was to understand the challenges in the provision of informal hospitality services to socio-economic well-being of women entrepreneurs in Kenya. The study used a qualitative approach with women from Muranga, Kakamega, Nakuru, and Kisumu Counties who work in informal hospitality and are registered with the Social Services Offices. Purposive sampling method was used to pick the 8 women entrepreneurs from the target population for key informant interviews, and 1 Focus Group Discussion was carried out with 8 participants. The study revealed that women in informal hospitality services in the 4 Counties faced many challenges in the provision of these services: records keeping, customers’ management, government registrations, drawing action plans, completion, getting loans and business locations. Women entrepreneurs have developed coping mechanisms to deal with these challenges with the help of the government. Keywords: Socio-Economic Well-Being, Women Enterpreneurs, Informal Hospitality Services, Challenges