Assessing Entrepreneurial Skills and Training Needs for Succesful Business Performance among Women Food Vendors: Evidence from Ilala, Tanzania

Abstract

The focus of this study was to investigate the entrepreneurial skills and self-reported training requirements of women food vendors in Ilala Municipality Tanzania. Despite their significance in local food systems and urban livelihoods, women food vendors generally work in vulnerable, informal contexts with low levels of financial, management, and strategic skills. This research utilized Training Needs Assessment (TNA) Theory and Human Capital Theory. A cross-sectional mixed-methods research design was employed which consisted of quantitative surveys (n = 159) of women food vendors and semi-structured qualitative interviews with key informants. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, importance-performance difference, and by applying a thematic analysis approach. The study findings showed that women food vendors are proficient in making food, storing food, and serving food but lack management, financial, and social skills. All respondents indicated that they needed training in routine planning, marketing, customer care, problem-solving, and identifying opportunities. Many used financial indicators to show business success, such as being profitable and selling more products, but they also mentioned non-financial indicators, such as customer satisfaction and independence. Qualitative findings confirmed the need for training programs with structure, context-specificity, consistent goals, and an emphasis on increasing management and cognitive skills instead of repetitions of technical skills.The study highlights that closing entrepreneurship skills gaps with systematic evidence and competency-based training, can significantly improve the performance and sustainability of women-run enterprises in the informal economy in Tanzania. The study suggests a systematic approach to municipal entrepreneurship programs to include ongoing training needs assessments, thus establishing systematic connections between the education and training contents and market needs. This study contributes generally to the discourse on women's economic empowerment and sustainable urban entrepreneurship