| Abstract: | This research aims to investigate factors affecting performance of small enterprises with a special emphasizes on both service and industry sectors in Addis ketema sub city, Addis Ababa. The specific objectives of the study is to assess factors that affect the performance of small enterprises, assess the socio economic characteristics of small enterprises owners/operators and recommend possible solution to alleviate the problem of small enterprises. For the sake of achieving the objectives of this study, questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 20. The results of the data are presented in descriptive and in quantitative forms. The information gleaned through questionnaire from a sample of 160 operators of small enterprises. The respondents were selected using stratified sampling technique. The independent variables for the study are gender, education, age, technology, access to finance, access to market, working premises, ease of regulation and access to network; while, the dependent variable is performance of small enterprises. The finding of the study indicates that the major challenges that affect performance of small enterprises are working premises, access to finance, access to network, technology and ease of regulation. Based on the findings, the key recommendations made are to government bodies they should provide affordable source of finance and strengthening of government institutions at different level. To operators of small enterprises they should form groups and make negotiating power for borrowing purpose and give their employees training. To the further research could target the micro, medium and larger firms that have dominated the markets |
