Inclement Entrepreneurial Gaps in Community Wildlife Management Business Model: A Case of Mbarang’andu and Tunduru Wmas in Southern Tanzania

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined entrepreneurial gaps in Mbarang’andu and Tunduru Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) since their establishment during the 5 years of business plan operations and implications thereafter. Design/Methodology/Approach: The population of this study was five WMAs that formed the cases for the study, and for the case of WMA leaders, the population was 40 leaders. The sample size for the WMAs selected as the cases for the study were two (2), Tunduru and Mbarang’andu purposefully selected. Further, the sample size for WMA leaders was 20 (50% of the population) purposefully selected. Descriptive analysis was used to summarise demographic and revenue data, and a Pearson Chi-square test was performed on the demographic data. A paired samples T-test was used to compare the required business start-up and available funds to reveal the equity gap in the two WMAs and compare the level of implementation of planned business activities in the two WMAs. Research Limitation: The research was limited to two WMAs and a small sample size since the client determined its size, given that this paper emanated from the consultancy project. Findings: Findings indicate that both WMAs have a high potential for carbon trading, photographic tourism, beekeeping, fish farming, and heritage tourism. The difference in the required funding and available funds for various expenditures in business start-ups was found to be statistically significant in both WMAs. The difference in the level of implementation of planned business activities was also found to be statistically significant in the two WMAs. Practical implications: To bridge the entrepreneurial gaps in the WMAs, proactive fundraising, diversification of income-generating activities, including carbon trading, human resource capacity building, and appropriate marketing of tourism and nature-based products are needed. Social Implications: The results of this research will form the basis for bridging entrepreneurial gaps in the WMAs, hence fueling optimal exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities in wildlife that benefit the community at large in return. Originality: This paper is original; only some extracts were used in the conference proceedings for the University of Dodoma (UDOM) 2019. Its novelty is inclined to expose entrepreneurial gaps and the framework for bridging such gaps in wildlife businesses.