Business Development Services Providers: Pathways and Involvement of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Arusha City and the Moshi Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

This paper aims at determining Business Development Service Providers’ (BDSPs) pathways and involvement of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in development and delivery of Business Development Service (BDS). The study was conducted in Arusha City and Moshi Municipality, in Tanzania. A total of 65 BDS providers and 254 MSMEs were sampled and a cross-sectional research design was used for this study. Respondents were selected by using a purposive and a simple random sampling procedure. Data were collected using a questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGDs). Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis, while quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results indicated that most of the pathways utilized by BDS providers in service delivery to MSMEs were seminars, trainings and workshops. Others were vocational training, incubators, technical transfer and promotion of appropriate technology, trade fair exhibitions, and consultancy as well as business information services. However, there were no institutionalized approaches regarding BDS delivery approaches among the surveyed BDS providers. Similarly, the surveyed BDS providers indicated limited MSMEs involvement in needs assessment, service designing and delivery approaches. Due to several constraining factor such as inadequate financial resources, lack of coordination and inadequate BDS providers’ information and awareness among MSMEs. The study concludes that it is not possible to determine which pathway is the most appropriate to follow in delivering services to MSMEs. Therefore, the choice of the pathway depends mostly on the focus of the providers delivering BDS. The study recommends that BDS providers need to ensure that their delivery pathways are clients oriented by involving them in the whole process of service delivery particularly in the needs assessment, services designing and delivery. Furthermore, the study recommends that the policy makers advocate for strategies that will facilitate MSMEs involvement in BDS designing and the delivery processes. Such strategies should include MSMEs capacity building and the use of appropriate participation methods. Likewise, the strategies should focus on improving MSMEs involvement in the BDS delivery process to ensure sustainable MSMEs development is achieved.