Abstract:
The main objectives of the study is to understand what has been researched and written on the contribution of SME’S to the social-economic welfare of business owners. The specific objectives of the study is to assess the barriers hindering small and medium enterprises in the social-economic welfare of business owners and to show how SMEs contribute to the social- economic welfare of business owners. The population of the study is 49,000 SMEs grouped into agricultural, industrial, service, and tourism sectors operating in Nyarugenge district will be targeted for the study with 40 sample size. The techniques used to collect data are questionnaire, interview, documentation techniques. The data analysis methods are analytical, statistical and historical methods. The results of the findings shows the mean score of 3.000 indicates a moderate level of agreement, with a relatively high standard deviation (1.15470), suggesting variability in responses. This reflects that while some SME owners may strongly feel hindered by high interest rates, others may not perceive it as severely. Respondents also tend to agree that SME owners often struggle with loan repayment due to high interest rates, leading to financial stress and business instability. The relatively low mean indicates that while this is a recognized barrier, it may not be universally perceived as the most critical issue. With a mean score of 2.96 and a standard deviation of 1.20, this suggests that respondents moderately agree that fluctuations in funding availability pose challenges for startups in planning and executing long-term strategies. The mean of 2.740 and standard deviation of 1.224 suggest that startups frequently face challenges in identifying and penetrating niche markets due to limited market research and understanding. The relatively low mean reflects that while this is an issue, it may not be as significant as others. The standard deviation indicates some variability in how this challenge is perceived. One of respondent said that “At the beginning, we didn’t imagine we could have this success. Many of me has completed university but I lose hope in that case this enterprise helped in many thinks such as give me mutual insurance, but even my thinking is far superior today. In the future, we Hope to process my produce.” The researcher recommend the beneficiaries’ of SMEs should also teach their neighbors who are not involved in order to spread the knowledge and entrepreneurial skills benefited from SMEs and help in the fast development of sector and Rwanda in general
