Do A students work for C students? In 2016, results from a survey of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were published, highlighting the characteristics of Kenyan businesses and their owners.[1]
MSMEs in Kenya are defined based on the number of people they employ. Micro enterprises employ 1 to 10 employees. Small businesses have 11-49 employees, while medium companies have 50-99 employees.
A result that stood out was the educational attainment of business owners. The survey established that:
Business owners in Kenya have higher education attainment.
The chart below shows the highest education level attained by owners of licensed micro, small, and medium businesses.
First, 33% of owners of licensed micro-businesses (1-10 employees) had a KCSE high school certificate as their highest level of education attainment. Moreover, 26% of micro-business owners had a primary certificate, 14% of owners had a diploma, and only 8% had a degree as their highest education attainment.
Second, 31% of owners of small businesses (11-49 employees) had degrees. Only 7% of owners of small businesses have a primary certificate as their highest level of education, and only 19% of owners have high school certificates as their highest level of education attainment.
Third, 40% of owners of medium-sized businesses (50-99 employees) have degrees, 13% of owners have high school certificates only, and 13% have primary certificates only.
The larger the business, the more likely the owner has a higher education attainment.
Combining small and medium businesses so that we only look at enterprises with 11-99 employees gets us the chart below. What we note from this is that the larger the business, the more likely the owner has a higher level of education.
Owners with degrees (70.8%) were overrepresented in small and medium businesses, followed by owners with diplomas (33.9%), KCSE certificates (32.1%), and, finally, KCPE certificates (19.8%). This trend possibly continues when we look at large businesses and corporations.
Additional years of education, among those with diplomas, give them a slight edge over those with high school certificates only.
It is worth noting that not all people with degrees are A students. However, the main point should be that small, medium, and even large enterprises are more likely to be owned by people with higher levels of education.
See Also
References
[1] KNBS. Micro, Small, and Medium Establishments. Basic Report 2016
