Browsing by Author "Okello-Obura, Constant"

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    Financial inclusion and the growth of small medium enterprises in Uganda
    (Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2021) Eton, Marus; Mwosi, Fabian; Okello-Obura, Constant; Turyehebwa, Abanis; Uwonda, Gilbert
    The growth and failure of small and medium enterprises has been a topic of discussions world over among policymakers and researchers. This study was guided by the following objectives: to examine the contributions of small medium enterprises (SMEs), to determine the challenges affecting small medium enterprises, to examine how financial inclusiveness supports the growth of small medium enterprises, and to establish the relationship between financial inclusion and growth of small medium enterprises. The study used a cross-sectional research design. Descriptive design was used and supplemented by inferential statistics. Correlation and regression analysis were adopted. The study revealed that financial inclusion is significant in supporting SME growth. The study further also revealed that the cost of acquiring and servicing financial services is high; there is also difficulty in using some of the financial services, and the way financial providers treat financial users, some lacked some degree of respect and dignity. The study recommends that financial providers should continue sensitizing the public on the available financial services beyond credit services, which are common and known. Digital financial service providers should encourage their clientele to use digitalized financial services which are cheap, secure, and risk averse. The cost of capital should also be reduced to encourage borrowing while SMEs should innovatively produce goods that can be competitive at both domestic and international markets.
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    Open access institutional repositories in universities in East Africa
    (Information and Learning Science, 2018) Kakai, Miriam; Musoke, Maria G.N.; Okello-Obura, Constant
    Purpose – Given that repositories were proposed as one of the routes to open access (OA), this study sought to establish the achievements universities in East Africa had attained in initiating institutional repositories (IRs), the challenges in providingOA and strategies for the way forward. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through literature searches, using the internet, journal databases and university websites in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for information about OA and IRs in East Africa. Some of the findings were based on the author’s PhD “The management and accessibility of OA IRs in selected universities in East Africa”, which used face-to-face interviews with six librarians and selfadministered questionnaires responded to by 183 researchers at Kenyatta University, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and Makerere University. Findings – Universities in East Africa were still in the intermediate stages of embracing OA, and only 40 libraries out of 145 universities had implemented IRs. However, most of the repositories had less than 1,000 items, with this challenge attributed to the absence of institutional and government/funder mandates that affected the collection/provision of OA, in addition to the lack of awareness of IRs among researchers. Originality/value – The value in this research was establishing the extent of IR initiatives in universities in East Africa and their contribution to OA, which is regarded as more visible and accessible to scholars and government personnel who could leverage the information for further development in the region