Competencies and Quantitative Techniques Possessed by Owners and Managers of SMEs in Uganda

Abstract

This study was carried out with an intention of establishing the competencies that managers and owners of SMEs possess in Uganda. Alongside that, the researchers also established the quantitative methods that are used in operations of SMEs in Uganda. The motivation of this study was to establish the extent to which owners and managers of SMEs act professionally even when the businesses they operate may not necessarily be formal. This was based on a review of literature indicating that about 90% of SMEs operating in Uganda are informal in nature facing similar challenges of short life span and unprofessional operational activities. Data was collected from 366 SMEs to be able to establish the two key aspects of focus of this study. This represented 95% response rate out of 385 target sample expected to be covered at the beginning of the study. The unit of analysis was a single respondent who was either a manager or owner of a business while the sampling unit was an SME (entity). Findings indicated that despite the informal nature of SMEs in Uganda, they practice some level of professionalism in their operations as judged from the competencies identified and quantitative methods established as possessed and used in SMEs in Uganda.