The Influence of Information and Communication Technology on the Business Performance of the Incubated Small Business Enterprises in Tanzania

Abstract

This study analyzed the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on the business performance of incubated small business enterprises (SBEs) in Tanzania. Purposive sampling and structured questionnaires were used on fifty SBEs incubated at the Tanzania Engineering and Manufacturing Development Organization (TEMDO) incubation center from a population of incubated SBEs in various government institutions, including the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) Centre of Agricultural Mechanization and Rural Technologies (CARMMATEC), the Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization (TIRDO), and the Tanzania Engineering and Manufacturing Development Organization (TEMDO). Statistical Package for Social Science and R Programming Language were used for data analysis The study established that ICT increases SBE’s market access through information accessibility (70%), market share (80%), promotion strategies (88%) and financial conveniences (74%). Furthermore, SBEs can boost their operational outputs by creating a favorable business environment (64%), lowering business barriers (78%), increasing speed to market (72%), and improving business efficiency (50%). Moreover, SBEs with the aid of ICT have a high chance of increasing business profit through increased sales volume (76%), income level (82%), profit margin (60%) and liquidity level (52%). However, the observed low rating on business efficiency and liquidity due to factors related to the availability and affordability of ICT infrastructure must be addressed to the substantial influence of ICT on SBEs’ business performance.