Socio-Cultural Factors and Financial Performance among Women Small and Medium Enterprises in Tanzania

Abstract

The influence of socio-cultural factors (SCFs) on financial performance (FP) among women small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania is understudied. This paper examines the relationship between SCFs and FP among women SMEs in Tanzania. A questionnaire survey of 80 women owner-managers was conducted in Dodoma region of Tanzania in order to collect quantitative data and 04 case studies for qualitative data. Descriptive analysis was employed in the analysis of quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data analysis. Results show that SCFs and FP of women SMEs are related. Inadequate education and business training, poor access to business information, interference of husbands in business fund control, poor support from husbands are the critical SCFs which affect FP (capital growth and sales volume) of women SMEs. The study recommends that serious training programmes need to be designed and implemented in order to discourage unfavourable SCFs and promote the favourable ones.

Keywords: Socio-Cultural Factors, Women SMEs, Financial Performance, Tanzania