The Influence of Entrepreneurial Training on the Business Performance: Evidence from Women Food Vendors in Ilala Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

The importance of entrepreneurship in stimulating economic development has been highlighted. However, in developing countries, the growth of women entrepreneurs has been constrained by barriers related to structure and culture, which ultimately restrict their ability to grow their businesses. Thus, the objective of this research project is to determine how entrepreneurial training influences the performance of women entrepreneurs who are food vendors in Ilala Municipality, Tanzania. To achieve this objective, the Research will be guided by the Resource-Based View of the Firm (RBV), Human Capital Theory and Theory of Planned Behaviour. The study will consider entrepreneurial training as developing essential competence required by women entrepreneurs. These competencies include: business, technical, personal, entrepreneurial, social, and interpersonal skills, leads to improved business performance. This study utilized a cross-sectional design and quantitative methodology to sample 320 women food vendors (at the ferry, Buguruni, and Kisutu markets). Structured questionnaires were used to collect survey data, which was then analysed by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that training for entrepreneurs positively influences business performance significantly (β = 0.759, p < 0.001), explaining 57.7% of variance. As performance demonstrated, there were positive increases in profitability, customer loyalty, speed of service and business growth. The findings of the study supports that entrepreneur training provides a significant pathway for women to succeed in business, with immediate and ongoing positive impacts. The study highlights the importance of developing training that is context specific and includes innovation, motivation and resilience in order to empower women food vendors to address structural barriers. Therefore, recommendations are made to policymakers and training providers to develop interventions that can increase women's entrepreneurial capacity, and drive local economic development.