Impact of investment in and utilization of information and communication technologies on market extension: overview of small and medium enterprises in Tanzania.

This study is an attempt to understand the situation of SMEs in Tanzania by focusing on the existing practice by SMEs operators in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the impact they have on markets accessibility, thereby expanding their markets for their factor inputs and end products. The study investigated on how Tanzania SMEs in their attempt to realize their organizational goals, are facing and coping with the new challenges posed by the ICTs. More specifically the study looked at it from a marketing perspective. Available data from the East Africa SMEs Survey which involved randomly selected 118 enterprises in the food processing, textile and tourist sector was used. To address the above problem, a contingency table analysis was run using the computer program known as Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The results of the study revealed that, indeed the use of ICTs by SMEs is one of the major factors in the increase of factor and end-product markets. The principal determinant is the extent to which SMEs have invested in appropriate ICTs and proper and efficient utilization of ICTs which had a positive significant relationship with access to relatively more factor and end-product markets. To fully realize the benefits of ICTs especially in expanding their factor and end-product markets, it was therefore recommended that, firstly, it is high time that the use of ICTs be highly encouraged to SMEs operators in order for them to explore more avenues in the marketing of factor inputs and end-products and to reduce market uncertainty. Secondly, it is recommended that telephone services, particularly, cell phone services be widely spread throughout the country and made available and easily accessible to the majority of entrepreneurs in Tanzania, especially in the rural where SMEs are expected to also flourish and mushroom. Thirdly, it is of value to promote and publicize the existing information portals and the services they are capable of rendering widely and encourage further establishments of such.