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Eltaweel, Mukhtar E. (2011) Financing of Small Businesses in the Libyan Economic Environment. PhD thesis, University of Gloucestershire.
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Mukhtar Eltaweel 2011 Thesis.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (2MB) | Preview |
Abstract
In many countries around the world small businesses are becoming a topic of major strategic importance, due to their role in revitalizing the economy and reducing unemployment. This heightened concern is significant, particularly; the countries that are seeking to diversify their economic base such as Libya. However, it is widely recognised that the small business sector faces more difficulties than large businesses in terms of accessing finance. The funding gap is one of the major problems facing the growth of small businesses in the different world’s countries. This is due, in large part, to the nature, size and lack of guarantees and information about such businesses. The aim of this study, therefore, is designed to explore the funding of Libyan small businesses in terms of sources, uses, attitudes and constraints. The investigation and interpretation of the opinions, attitudes and concepts of the participants was the target of this study. Therefore, a qualitative methodological approach was adopted for this essentially exploratory study. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with two groups of participants. The first group included twenty-seven interviews with the owner-managers of small businesses. The second group included five interviews with senior lending managers in the main banks in Libya. The sample was selected from two cities of Libya, from Tripoli, which is considered the capital of Libya, and from Misurata, which is classified as the city of trade and industry in Libya. The research yielded a number of interesting findings. The study suggested that the owner-managers of small business in Libya are heavily dependent on their savings, family and friends to fund their businesses at start-up. Retained earnings, family, trade credit and business partners were the main sources of funding in the expansion stage. The research showed that the small business owners were seeking external funding for business expansion. A number of difficulties and constraints were highlighted in the raising of external finance, including lack of business planning and financial management skills, cultural factors, the absence of some institutional sources of funding, financial information, restrictions on bank lending, and aspects of government policy. Some of these difficulties were common to small business finances in many parts of the world; others were applicable to other countries in the North African region, while some were specific to the Libyan context. The study concludes with a number of recommendations that need to be adopted by the owner-managers of small businesses and policy makers to help alleviate problems of the non-availability of finance to the small business sector. Given the importance of the issues that are highlighted, further research on similar and related issues is proposed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||||||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Finance; Small Businesses; Libya | ||||||||||||
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HG Finance > HG4001 Finance management. Business finance | ||||||||||||
| Divisions: | Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences | ||||||||||||
| Depositing User: | Susan Turner | ||||||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 03 Jan 2018 16:05 | ||||||||||||
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 10:13 | ||||||||||||
| URI: | https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/5277 |
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