摘要：Tanzania’s small and medium enterprises make up about 50% of its Gross domestic product. Of that 50 %, most SMEs involved in the agricultural sector. There are more than one million entrepreneurs in Tanzania running micro (informal) businesses, small to medium businesses; however, the small businesses rarely turnover to medium businesses. The purpose of this study is to provide more insight into the determinants of SME competitiveness in a developing environment by shedding light on the agricultural sector in Tanzania. These determinants offer a basis for business competitiveness. The study uses a combination of theory and econometric analysis, through the collection of field data from a selected sample of 100 SME’s. One of the significant findings is that the Government support determinant had a negative correlation to increased competitiveness, which shows that policies and regulations are not as strong as they should be and are not as enforced efficiently and clearly. Determinants like the level of education and training skills also hold a significant role in maintaining competition in business. Finance holds a substantial part of the challenges faced by SME’s in Tanzania, restricting growth through lack of availability of capital. Other challenges include Unfair taxation laws and lack of technology. The findings suggest that better government policies and regulations should be put in place to support SME growth, and the financial institutions need to reform their loan structures to accommodate the different stages of an SME.
