Business Practices of Beneficiaries of Women Development Fund in Iringa Municipal Council, Iringa Region, Tanzania

Abstract

The study was conducted in 2021 to examine the business practices of the beneficiaries of the Women Development Fund (WDF) in Iringa District Council, Tanzania. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design where checklists and semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather information from a sample size of 100 respondents who were beneficiaries of WDF. The respondents involved in the study were randomly selected from the study population.  Descriptive analysis was used to analyze quantitative information using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS. 20.0) computer software. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data collected from the key-informants. The study findings showed that beneficiaries of WDF in the study area are operating their business with low start-up capital, inadequate technical and managerial skills, lack of business premises, operating unregistered business activities, low savings, and poor record keeping of their business activities. The study recommends to the Local Government Authority (LGA) to provide a friendly business environment for beneficiaries of WDF to undertake business activities by providing technical and managerial skills that will enable them to have the ability to manage their undertakings successfully.