This study examines the impact of survival and growth strategies adopted by the women micro and small business on performance of their enterprises. The data used in this study were obtained through a survey of 221 microcredit borrowers from PRIDE Microfinance program in Tanzania. The study uses logistic regression analysis to analyse the data. Study results have shown that among the growth strategies adopted by the owners, non-separation of business resources from household resources and ownership of multiple enterprises have a positive effect on enterprise profitability, while the use of unpaid family labour has a negative effect on enterprise profitability. Of the studied household and individual level variables, only household income; and business skills had a positive effect on enterprise performance. Taken together, these results suggest that intermingling of household and business resources; and household incomes were more important in the performance of women enterprises that are supported by microcredit.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate performance drivers of women-owned businesses that are funded primarily through microcredit. It draws on Storey’s theory of small business growth and family embeddedness axiom to examine the factors that drive the performance of businesses that are funded primarily through microcredit. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a cross-sectional survey that covered 208 women business owners who had access to microcredit. The authors use a logistic regression analysis to model the relationship between independent variables and enterprise performance. Findings The paper demonstrates that microcredit plays a significant role in business performance. The credit amount has the most significant influence on the enterprise capital base, whereas the effect on profits is insignificant. Also, owners are more likely to report growth in profits if they possess skills in business management. In addition, younger business owners and necessity entrepreneurs are more likely to report success in their businesses. Other factors that have a significant effect on business performance are product cycle, loan use and family support. Originality/value Many women in Tanzania are entering business ownership and depend on microcredit as their primary source of capital for starting and growing their businesses. However, just a few businesses grow into small and medium-sized enterprises. For informed policy decisions, it is important that the factors influencing the performance of funded businesses are known and well understood. This understanding will help the government and development practitioners assist women in achieving business growth rates that could warrant their empowerment and poverty reduction prospects.

Purpose This paper aims to examine marriage and family-related determinants of performance of micro and small businesses owned by women in Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed a total of 429 micro and small women entrepreneurs using a one-stop semi-structured questionnaire. The authors used hierarchical logistic regression analysis to determine the effect of marriage and related variables on enterprise performance. Findings The multivariate results have established that marriage has both positive and negative effects on businesses owned by women. Businesses experienced growth when owners received moral support, made an independent decision regarding business activities and used family labour and household resources to support business operations. Businesses were affected when the business owner faced difficulty in balancing business-family responsibilities. Also, some forms of spousal and family support appear to hurt business growth. Practical implications The present study adds to the literature and provides evidence of the influence of marriage and related responsibilities on the performance of women businesses. This understanding can help policymakers and other stakeholders to design appropriate and effective policies and programmes that could help to improve the performance of businesses owned by women for their economic empowerment, graduation out of poverty and improvement in the overall household welfare. The interventions should also consider both women businesses specific needs and the needs of their households and address intra-household decision-making processes. Originality/value Women entrepreneurs face numerous challenges to start and grow their businesses. Among the significant challenges facing women’s entrepreneurship include marriage and family-related responsibilities. Nevertheless, little is known about how marriage influences and shapes women entrepreneurial processes in Tanzania.

This paper examines the effect of child labour in the profitability of women owned enterprises. The study covered 429 women respondents who had access to microcredit in Morogoro and Iringa towns. We used the Ordered Probit to model the relationship between the predictors and the outcome variable. The findings show that the use of child labour plays a more significant role in the profitability of women businesses than any variable included in the analysis. Results have also shown that owners who possess business skills, who have access to markets and those who do not separate business resources from household resources are more likely to experience a profit increase in their enterprises than otherwise. On the other hand, access to loans doesn't seem to translate into increases in enterprise profit. From these results, we gather that as a poverty alleviation strategy, microcredit access and micro enterprising are not a panacea, but will require other supporting policies and services to enable women to find their way out of poverty. It is also important that job creation and employment patterns of microcredit supported enterprises are studied and valued accordingly.

This paper was written with the major aim of presenting a number of issues which justify the undertaking of marketing orientation studies in Tanzania Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs). It was also the intention of the authors to give a brief picture of marketing practice in Tanzania environment and on the higher learning institutions. The information used in this paper was mainly collected through review of literatures on articles which focused on marketing orientation and higher learning institutions. The review of literature revealed that different aspects including challenges facing HLIs, sectoral variation, geographical concentrated literatures, qualitative based studies, review of literature based studies, single informants responses, small samples problems and limited responses limitations are major issues justifying undertaking a marketing orientation study in Tanzania HLIs.