WINFRED CHEPKOECH BII2026-03-312026-03-312025-09https://repository.cuea.edu/handle/123456789/647ThesisMSMEs are vital drivers of innovation, job creation, and poverty reduction, yet they often face challenges related to limited access to financial services, which hampers their ability to expand and thrive. Many studies proposed ways of ensuring these MSMEs at least survive up to their fifth year but still they remain contested. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effect of the financial deepening and sustainable growth of the MSMEs in Kericho County. The specific objectives of the study were to determine how financial literacy, financial innovation and financial access to credit have influenced the sustainable growth of the MSMEs in Kericho County, Kenya. The study was supported by three theories, The theory of Financial Innovation, The financial intermediation theory and Resource based view theory. Primary data was collected with the use of open-ended questionnaires and interviews. The research design implemented for this project consists of a descriptive approach. The target population of the study included all the 22,327 MSMEs owners from different industrial sectors operating in Kericho County. Stratified random sampling was used to arrive at a sample size that comprised 98 MSME owners. Quantitative Data collection method was used. Quantitative Analysis was used with the help of SPSS Version 22.0, where descriptive statistics were used to analyse survey responses regarding MSME growth and financial service utilization. Regression analysis was conducted to test the relationship between access to financial services and the growth indicators of MSMEs. The results revealed a positive and significant relationship between financial deepening as measured through financial innovation, credit accessibility, and financial literacy, and the sustainable growth of MSMEs in Kericho County. These results were supported by regression coefficients for financial innovation dimensions. The results for the study variables were; financial innovation (beta = 0.156596 with an associated P-value=0.0006), Credit Accessibility (beta= 0.502022 with an associated p-value=0.0002) and financial literacy (beta= 0.250965 with an associated p-value 0.0426). The results show that the four variables explain up to R Square 57.9% and adjusted R-Square 0.552. The results show that the variable explains a significant level of variation for MSME sustainability with an F-statistics value of 6.810 with an associated p-value of 0.000 which was significant. Based on the obtained results from the surveyed MSMEs in Kericho County, it was concluded that financial deepening significantly enhances MSME sustainability. The main recommendation is that policymakers and financial institutions should promote digital financial tools, improve credit access, and enhance financial literacy programs to facilitate MSME growth in Kericho County.en-USFinancial deepeningsustainable growthmicrosmall and medium enterprises (MSMEs)access to financefinancial inclusionbusiness growthKericho CountyKenyaThesis