The role of entrepreneurial skills on the performance of small and medium enterprises; Case study of SMEs in Wakiso town

Abstract

The major objective of this study was to examine the role entrepreneurial skills on the performance of Small Medium Enterprises in Uganda. The specific objectives are; to find out the role of entrepreneurial skills on the business growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Wakiso Town, to examine the role of entrepreneurship skills on the profitability of small and Medium Enterprises in Wakiso Town, and to examine the role of entrepreneurship skills on the Return on Investment of SMEs performance in Wakiso town. A descriptive research design was used to conduct the study with a sample size of 228 respondents. Various data collection instruments were used in this study and these include; questionnaires and interview guide. The findings revealed that there is correlation between entrepreneurial skills on the business growth of SMEs with a positive and significant relationship (r = 0.681, p <0.01), there is a correlation between entrepreneurial skills and profitability of SMEs with a positive and significant relationship (r= 0.783, p<0.01), and there is a strong positive correlation co-efficient (r) of (r = 0.694) 69.4 % while 30.6% is by other factors. From the study it can be concluded that entrepreneurial skillsstrongly affectperformance of SMEs in Uganda. Based on the findings of the study the researcher found in the field where entrepreneurial skills had a strong and significant relationship with business growth, profitability and return on investment of SMEs. The researcher recommends that sincelack of these skills greatly affects the growth of their businesses in terms of return on investment, net profit and business growth. Therefore, it is recommended that the business cooperation for entrepreneurs should organize training for its members in entrepreneurship skills. SMEs should develop and organize constant seminars and workshops to train and educate employees on mechanisms for mitigation of critical risks which have affected the performance of firms. The SMEs should learn how to develop budgets and incorporate them in their businesses to monitor and allocate resources used in different periods of time so as to effectively improve the performance of SMEs.