Business efficiency in Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) in selected districts in western Uganda.

Abstract
The study‭ ‬was undertaken to determine the level of business efficiency in Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs‭) ‬in‭ ‬selected districts in Western Uganda.‭ ‬The study was guided by the following objectives‭; ‬to determine the level of‭ ‬business efficiency of SMEs in terms of,‭ ‬profitability,‭ ‬growth‭; ‬The study employed ex-post facto or retrospective and‭ ‬prospective designs together with descriptive design and descriptive comparative as well as correlation design.‭ ‬335‭ ‬questionnaires were distributed to respondents and were collected and used for analysis.‭ ‬The study found out‭ ‬that majority of SMEs owners‭ (‬52%‭) ‬in western Uganda are female,‭ ‬more than‭ ‬69%‭ ‬of the SMEs owners are in their‭ ‬early adult hood and majority of the SMEs owners are high school leavers‭ (‬30.1%‭)‬,‭ ‬over‭ ‬50%‭ ‬of the‭ ‬SMEs are sole‭ ‬proprietorship businesses and majority of the SMEs‭ (‬42.4%‭) ‬have been in business between‭ ‬1-4‭ ‬years.‭ ‬The study‭ ‬found out that the level of profitability among SMEs was high‭ (‬Average Mean‭ = ‬2.67‭)‬,‭ ‬the results also showed that‭ ‬the level of growth in SMEs is low‭ (‬Average Mean‭=‬2.30‭)‬.‭ ‬The overall findings showed that the level of business‭ ‬efficiency is low among SMEs‭ (‬Average Mean‭ = ‬2.48‭)‬.‭ ‬The study employed the theory of Pecking Order‭ (‬Myers 1984‎) ‏which states that Management has a preference to choose internal financing before external financing,‭ ‬was‭ ‬proven in this study in the aspects of SMEs using internally generated funds as compared to borrowed funds.‭ ‬The‭ ‬recommendations from the study included‭; ‬The SMEs owners should try to maximise and put to use their assets so as‭ ‬to obtain higher returns on assets.‭ ‬The government,‭ ‬more specifically the Ministry of East African Affairs,‭ ‬URA‭ ‬should sensitize the owners of SMEs on the opportunities that are available in the EAC and how the SMEs can be able to‭ ‬export their products to the neighbouring countries so as to boost their turnover.‭ ‬The owners of SMEs should ‬have sales team in place so as to market the products and services of the business in order to increase sales.‭ ‬The ‬SMEs owners should also make sure that business plans are prepared so as to act as a road map on how to take the business to the next level.
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Keywords
small and medium enterprises, growth, profitability, business efficiency
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