Hingi, Stephen2024-10-092024-10-092019APAhttps://scholar.mzumbe.ac.tz/handle/123456789/1431A dissertation submitted to the School of Business in partial fulfillment of the requirement for award of a Master degree of Business Administration in Corporate Management (MBA-CM) of Mzumbe UniversityThe general objective of this study was to examine the Challenges that SMEs are facing towards their Growth. The study was conducted in SIDO-MBEYA in Mbeya region. The study used descriptive research design. This study employed convenience sampling and purposive sampling to collect data from 100 business people, government officials and microfinance officials using interviews and questionnaires. The data was analyzed descriptively and presented through figures, tables and percentages. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires which were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Generally, the study findings revealed that access to finance and credit facilities hugely affected the growth of SMEs within Mbeya city. Lack of or insufficient capital for expansion led to collapse of many businesses, Poor infrastructure like bad and dilapidated road networks greatly impacted negatively on the growth of SMEs due to delays in delivery, high cost of transport. This made some entrepreneurs to relocate to central easily accessible places thus losing their former client base, Socio-cultural factors had much impact on the growth of SMEs but due to modernity and diversity of our culture things has started to turn out well. The study also has revealed that education largely influence growth of SMEs at SIDO Mbeya. The study recommends that: the government should get involved in determining the interest rate and protecting the borrowers; the policies of the MFI, as guided by the Central. There is a need to improve ways of gathering customer information for the purpose of personalized marketing and service in the context of communication.enSIDO-MbeyaSME's PerformanceThe Life Cycle Model TheoryThesis