Participation in Business Plan Competitions in Kenya

The Government of Kenya has over the recent five years been running Business Plan Competitions. These initiatives have been aimed at identifying growth oriented and innovative business ideas that can be nurtured into viable and sustainable enterprises. The initiatives dubbed Jitihada and Chora Bizna have been marked by poor participation by the targeted MSMEs. Since participation is key to success of such interventions, the researcher was prompted to investigate the factors influencing the participation of MSMEs in these initiatives in Nyeri Municipality. This study is based on Vrooms (1964) expectancy theory that states that work effort by individuals is dependent on the outcomes that they expected. It is also based on Leon Feistinger's theory of cognitive dissonance that suggested that attitudes shape people's behavior, action and judgment.