<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Effective managerial skills can play a key role in the internal governance of micro and small businesses in Africa, enabling them to survive, compete and thrive in a dynamic business environment. However, due to the low absorption capacity, many micro and small entrepreneurs and managers lack the necessary managerial skills. We collected data from MSMEs owners and managers in Tanzania to examine the managerial skills required and their effect on business performance based on thematic content analysis and regression analysis. The results show that the managerial skills of MSMEs owners and managers have a significantly positive effect on MSMEs performance, in particular, financial management, marketing, human relations, and entrepreneurial skills were crucial skills in running small businesses successfully. However, financial management, marketing and entrepreneurial skills were the main skills gaps for many MSMEs owners and managers, suggesting that education, mentoring, and training in these areas for MSMEs owners and managers need to be strengthened. This study argues that since young people form the majority of the stakeholders running small businesses, targeted policies and strategies to promote entrepreneurship among young people through entrepreneurial learning and experiences can help instil an entrepreneurial mindset, one of the crucial skills in small business management.</p>
</abstract>

Effective managerial skills can play a key role in the internal governance of micro and small businesses in Africa, enabling them to survive, compete and thrive in a dynamic business environment. However, due to the low absorption capacity, many micro and small entrepreneurs and managers lack the necessary managerial skills. We collected data from MSMEs owners and managers in Tanzania to examine the managerial skills required and their effect on business performance based on thematic content analysis and regression analysis. The results show that the managerial skills of MSMEs owners and managers have a significantly positive effect on MSMEs performance, in particular, financial management, marketing, human relations, and entrepreneurial skills were crucial skills in running small businesses successfully. However, financial management, marketing and entrepreneurial skills were the main skills gaps for many MSMEs owners and managers, suggesting that education, mentoring, and training in these areas for MSMEs owners and managers need to be strengthened. This study argues that since young people form the majority of the stakeholders running small businesses, targeted policies and strategies to promote entrepreneurship among young people through entrepreneurial learning and experiences can help instil an entrepreneurial mindset, one of the crucial skills in small business management.

Managerial Skills for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Managerial Skills for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)"}

Effective managerial skills can play a key role in the internal governance of micro and small businesses in Africa, enabling them to survive, compete and...

Managerial Skills for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

Published Online: Jan 14, 2023

Page range: 343 - 359

Received: Aug 24, 2022

Accepted: Nov 29, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mdke-2022-0022

Keywords
small business management, managerial skills, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), MSMEs performance, entrepreneurship

© 2022 Sebastian Ng’ora et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Managerial Skills for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

Published Online: Jan 14, 2023

Page range: 343 - 359

Received: Aug 24, 2022

Accepted: Nov 29, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mdke-2022-0022

Keywordssmall business management, managerial skills, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), MSMEs performance, entrepreneurship

© 2022 Sebastian Ng’ora et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
small business management, managerial skills, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), MSMEs performance, entrepreneurship