Through Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO), the government
seeks to unlock the potential of the youth by empowering and giving them more
opportunities to do business with the government. Out of 30,000 youths, People with
Disabilities (PWDs) and women owned companies, only 6,000 have benefited from
government procurement opportunities between 2013 and 2014. Empirical evidence
on AGPO and its influence on performance of youth owned enterprises in Kenya are
non-conclusive as it fails to clearly link the effect of preferential procurement policy,
capacity building component of AGPO and availability of information on AGPO to
performance of youth owned enterprises in Kenya. This study sought to investigate
the influence of access to government procurement opportunities programme on
performance of youth owned enterprises in Nairobi County in Kenya. Specifically, the
study aimed to; establish the effect of preferential procurement policy on performance
of youth owned enterprises in Nairobi County in Kenya; establish the influence of
capacity building component of AGPO on performance of youth owned enterprises in
Nairobi County in Kenya; and determine the effect of availability of information on
access to government procurement opportunities programme on performance of youth
owned enterprises in Nairobi County in Kenya.
This study used an exploratory research design. The target population was 1000 youth
owned enterprises in Nairobi County that have registered with AGPO program.
Stratified random sampling and proportionate sampling techniques were used to select
a sample of 150 youth entrepreneurs. Self-administered questionnaires were used to
collect primary data while secondary data was obtained from AGPO related
publications. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics; nonparametric
test (Chi-test) and correlation analysis. The qualitative data was analyzed
using content analysis. Reliability of the instrument was estimated using Cronbach’s
Alpha Coefficient after pilot study.
Findings indicated that preferential procurement policy, capacity building component
and availability of information on AGPO have a significant effect on performance of
youth owned enterprises in Nairobi County in Kenya. The study recommends that the government should scale up capacity building by
AGPO to be carried out nationally and make it mandatory for all its agencies to
publicize tenders through channels that are easily accessible to the general public
particularly the youths. There should be monitoring of AGPO programme to ensure
that government agencies set aside 30% tenders for the youths and other special
interest groups. Youth entrepreneurs should actively build their skills and knowledge
on how to participate in public procurement to fully benefit from the 30% government
tenders allocated for them. The study recommends for formulation of new theories to
guide public procurement meant for special interest groups that do not follow the
classical theories of procurement but seem to contradict them.
URI