Analysis of Women Small Scale Entrepreneurs Practices during Business Negotiations in Tanzania Agribusiness

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the women participation in business ventures in Africa. The move has seen huge endorsements of capital from donors, governments and private sector to entrepreneurial development among women. Despite these efforts business growth among women entrepreneurs seems to be slower than is the case with their male counter parts. Studies that have so far been conducted in Africa have been focusing much on emancipating women from various social cultural and economic barriers. Negotiation is very important in business success. This article explores women entrepreneurs’ business negotiations practices in Tanzania agribusiness. Purposive sampling technique was used for selection of the respondents to participate in the study. The study employed interview-administered questionnaire and 131 women small-scale entrepreneurs involved in selling of agri-food participated in the study. Descriptive analysis employed and data were analysed by using the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) window 16.0. In general study indicates that women lack soft skills during business negotiations and feel shy when negotiate with their male counter parts. For the growth of the business owned by women some advice were provided for building business negotiation skills of entrepreneurs.

Key words: Tanzania, negotiation, and women small-scale entrepreneurs