Microfinance Services and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Bujumbura, Burundi

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of microfinance services on the growth of small and medium enterprises in Bujumbura, Burundi. The study was undertaken in Ngagara, Rohero and Buyenzi districts in Bujumbura. Loan Provision, Savings mobilisation and financial skills training were three services provided by Microfinance examined in this study. The objectives were to determine how Loan provisions affect the growth of SME, how the mobilisations of savings affect the growth of SMEs and how financial skills training affect the growth of SME. A sample of 173 owners of SME beneficiaries of Microfinance services located in Bujumbura were respondents to this study. The researcher made questionnaire which was used as the main instrument of data collection. Descriptive research design was used with a quantitative approach. The Pearson linear correlation coefficient, simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse data. The findings revealed that there was a significant positive linear relationship between loan provision and growth of SMEs, with a PLCC of 0.869 at p