SME development policies of Tanzania and Rwanda: comparability of policy presentation on focus, significance, challenges and participation

Abstract

The world’s new ideologies of regionalisationism and globalizationism anchor on the role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for promotion of a healthy business climate for upgrading the private sector and engineering for economic efficiency and development. SMEs have been a mechanism of inclusion and equity for economic empowerment and deepening of economic and business services especially in developing countries. The SMEs‘cultural and socio-economic importance has driven the initiation of national SME development in many countries. SMEs have gained elevating importance in developed and developing economies, have the capability of quick adaptation, low cost of management, less capital and sometimes labor intensive for enabling cheap production. Despite their size related weaknesses, SMEs are less affected by economic crises due to their inherent flexibility and adaptability characteristics. SMEs are vital actors for enhancing entrepreneurial innovation and innovation system as well as competitiveness in economies. National SME development policies, being high level political intent, directives and guidelines are critical for development, coordination and deployment of potential and available resources and capabilities. The paper, therefore, aims at analyzing and comparing the presentations of SME development policies of Tanzania and Rwanda based on policy framework options namely, focus, significance, challenges and participation. The findings show elevating differences in various spheres of the policy processes including the SME definition, vision, mission and objectives in terms of activeness in presentation, political flavour, sharpness of intent and sense of anticipated commitment. This implies a continued gap of SME development between countries under review and other East African Community (EAC) member countries until policies affecting SMEs are harmonized.Keywords: SMEs, Policy Presentation, Policy Framework, Entrepreneurship, BDS, Tanzania, Rwanda

The Mediating Impact of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria on the Relationship Between the Critical Success Factors and SMEs' Success

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Business Development Services and Participation of Rural-Based Micro Enterprises in Export Markets: Exploring the Heterogeneity of the Tanzanian Handicrafts Industry

“…In Tanzania, MEs employ up to four with a capital investment of not more than Tshs. five million (Gamba, 2019; UNIDO, 2012; URT, 2012). Based on these definitions and categorizations, most of these MEs operate in the informal sector, mainly in agriculture, trading, service, small-scale manufacturing, and mining.…”

The Contribution of The Language Use in The Outdoor Advertisements: Evidence From SMEs in Dar Es Salaam

“…This group has been categorized into four: micro enterprises, small enterprises, medium enterprises, and large enterprises, and hence contribute to the country's GDP by 27% (Lyimo, 2020). Apart from being a fast-growing sector in the country, still, several problems are facing SMEs such as lack of information, poor marketing strategies, failure to access loans, high-interest rates, and poor communication (Gamba, 2019;Lyimo, 2020;Republic & Industry, 2002;Ojwang', 2018). SMEs ought to use outdoor advertisements to advertise their products or services to the public, however, they lack marketing strategies and poor communication including both linguistic and paralinguistic uses.…”

“…SMEs' contribution to Tanzania's economy is paramount as it is about 27% of the GDP (CEED, 2020). Apart from this vivid contribution to the economy of the country, this sector is still affected by numerous challenges such as limited information, poor marketing strategies, failure to access loans, high-interest rates, poor government support, and poor communication (Gamba, 2019;Lyimo, 2020;Republic & Industry, 2002). The presence of poor marketing strategies such as poor promotion techniques and advertisements accompanied by poor communication because of inappropriate language uses (linguistics and paralinguistics) leads to poor outdoor advertisement used by SMEs.…”