Effect of Mobile Money Services on the Income-Earning of Women Second- hand Cloth Entrepreneurs in Dodoma City.

Abstract

The diffusion of mobile money technology has changed the financial landscape across countries in Sub–Saharan Africa, including Tanzania. Women entrepreneurs would use mobile money services to improve business performance by increasing sales, market share, and profitability. The study adopted a capability approach to investigate the effect of mobile money services on the income-earning of women’s second-hand cloth entrepreneurs in Dodoma City. Triangulation mixed method was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from Sabasaba and Machinga complexes in Dodoma City. A total of 50 women second-hand clothes entrepreneurs were surveyed and 15 key informants were interviewed. The study used SPSS as an analytical tool to analyze quantitatively both descriptive and inferential data on the extent of mobile money services use in the second-hand clothes business and the effect of mobile money services on the income-earning of women second-hand cloth entrepreneurs. Qualitative data were analyzed by using content analysis on challenges women second-hand cloth entrepreneurs face when using mobile money services. The result shows that the majority of women second-hand cloth entrepreneurs use Vodacom mobile money services followed by Tigo mobile money services. Further also revealed a significant relationship between mobile money saving and mobile money borrowing, mobile money receiving, and the income-earning of second-hand cloth women entrepreneurs. The study findings revealed that the coping strategies for solving the challenges of using mobile money services include a reduction of transaction costs and an increase in digital knowledge for users. The study recommends that the Bank of Tanzania (BOT), Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA), and mobile money companies should collaborate with small and medium entrepreneurs to solve challenges that hinder business efforts of increasing income by using mobile money services.