Intellectual capital on growth of small and medium enterprises in Kenya

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya represent a vital part of the economy, being the source of various economic contributions through the generation of income via exporting, providing new job opportunities, introducing innovations, stimulating competition, and engine for employment. The study examined the influence of Intellectual Capital (IC) and growth of SMEs in Kenya. The study was guided by the following research objectives which include; finding out to what extent managerial skills, entrepreneurial skills; innovativeness, structural capital and customer capital influence the growth of SMEs in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey and exploratory design. The study targeted 4560 SMEs in Nairobi County who are registered by Ministry of Industrialization and Ministry of Trade. Regression models was used to examine the influence of intellectual capital on growth of SMEs in Kenya. The study found that intellectual capital components (managerial skills, entrepreneurial skills, innovativeness, structural capital, and customer capital) have a great positive influence on the growth of SMEs.