Impediments to the Growth of Cottage Industries in Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

Cottage industries play a significant role in Kenya’s socio-economic development. However, a number of obstacles inhibit their growth. This research paper, which employed an exploratory research design, unearths these impediments. The major challenges cited by potters, crude sugar producers, brick-makers, liquor producers, masons, carpenters, traditional medicine persons, charcoal producers, weavers, bakers, bicycle repairers, flour-grinders, and shoe-makers and repairers in Kakamega County were: inadequate capital, competition, lack of ready market, scarcity of raw materials and unfavourable weather.

Key Words: Impediments, Growth, Cottage Industries, Kakamega