The role of microfinance institutions in the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises: a case study of PRIDE in Moshi urban

A cross-sectional case study was carried out at PRIDE in Moshi town among 50 small and medium entrepreneurs SMEs receiving microcredit from PRIDE during the past two years. Data was collected by administering a structured questionnaire. Documentary review and observation were also used to substantiate responses from questionnaires. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and summarized using frequency distributions and charts. Statistical tests were done using Chi-square tests, t-test for differences of means and correlations to test hypotheses posed in the study. Findings show that female SME-owners were significantly likely to take smaller loans compared to their male counterparts (p=0.022). Mean employment creation level was two employees with 72% of SMEs reaching the mean increase after acquisition of loan. There was significant positive correlation between number of employees before and after credit acquisition from PRIDE (r=0.535: p<0.001). Of 50 SMEs included in the study, only 13 (26%) were new business enterprises. Entrepreneurs with primary or secondary education supplemented with vocational, small enterprise owners, larger amount of microcredit and registered MSEs were likely to get gross margins of more than TZS 100,000 per month (p<0.05). Women entrepreneurs and those getting relatively larger amounts of microcredit being likely to make larger savings (p<0.05). It is concluded that microfinance contributes toward creation of employment and poverty reduction but not creation of new enterprises. It is therefore recommended that MFIs should also provide loans to new entrepreneurs for starting new business ventures.