IMPACT OF MOBILE MONEY SERVICES ON THEGROWTH OF SMES IN

BOTSWANA

ALPHEUS
1
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

ABSTRACT: Technology is consistently cited as one of the greatest challenges faced

by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world. It is widely recognized
that technology is invaluable for improving efficiency, accuracy, increasing outreach
and reducing costs. However, many SMEs lack sufficient funds to invest in suitable
back end technologies, or operate in regions where access to critical infrastructure
such as the Internet remains scarce. One of the recently emerging technologies in the
SMEs industry is the use of mobile phone technology for both banking and
remittance. This paper seeks to investigate the impact of mobile money services on
the growth of SMEs in Botswana. Therefore the study sought to examine the
influence of mobile payments, mobile finance and mobile banking on the growth of
SMEs in Botswana. Descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The
target population included all the SMEs in Gaborone. A sample of 10 SME business
was taken to be the respondents representing the other SMEs in town. Stratified
sampling technique used to pick out the SMEs as well as the personnel targeted.
Questionnaires were used for data collection constructed on a five point Likert scale
containing close ended questions. The collected data filtered, organized and corded
before data analysis. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24
software used for data analysis. Analysis was done in form of descriptive and
inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics included the means, standard deviations,
frequencies and percentages while inferential statistics included coefficient of
determination and analysis of variance. Findings were presented in statistical tables
accompanied by relevant discussions. The study established that mobile payments,
mobile finance and mobile banking had positive significant relationships with the
growth of SMEs. Further regression analysis demonstrated that the 4 variables had
significant influence on the growth of SMEs and these were reliability, safety,
convenience and cost efficiency. Therefore the researcher recommended that mobile
money service providers should encourage SMEs traders to adopt the use of mobile
money.

KEYWORDS: Mobile Money, SMEs, technology

 INTRODUCTION

Technology is consistently cited as one of the greatest challenges faced by small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world. It is widely recognized that technology
is invaluable for improving efficiency, accuracy, increasing outreach and reducing
costs. However, many SMEs lack sufficient funds to invest in suitable back-end
technologies, or operate in regions where access to critical infrastructure such as the
Internet remains scarce. Still others sink funds into poor technology investments, or
simply choose not to invest, limiting their ability to grow and compete (Mararo,
2018). One of the recently emerging technologies in the microfinance industry is the
use of mobile phone technology for both banking and remittance. According to
Ahmad, Ahmad Bakar (2018) the global volume of mobile transactions is expected to
grow from USD 37.4 billion in 2011 to over USD 1.13 trillion in 2014, while the
number of users of mobile money services worldwide will surpass 141 million in
2014, and the number of mobile phones will be 7 billion, greater than the total
population in the globe. This represents a mere 2.1% of all mobile users worldwide.
This implies that there is still much room for growth especially in regions where there
is lack of alternative payment methods. By 2012, there were 25 mobile money
services operated by different Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) across Africa
(Shettima and Sharma, 2020). Among the are countries like Kenya which has the
leading number of users of mobile money services with 17,800,000 registered users,
which represents 71.3% of the total number of mobile phone users in the country
(Mutiso and Reuben, 2021). Tanzania is the second with 2 9,200,000 users of mobile
money which represents 43.4% of the total number of mobile phone subscribers in the
country (Nzyoka, 2020). Uganda has the third largest number of mobile money users
in the East African region with 2,100,000 users representing 8.1% of the total number
of mobile phone subscribers (Chale, 2015). Mobile money services escalated
significantly in 2018. Statistics indicate that 45.6% of the population in sub-Saharan
Africa is actively registered for the use of mobile money, compared to 33.2% (South
Asia), 11.0% (East Asia and the Pacific), and 5.6% (Middle East and North America)
(Zu, Gu, Li, Bonsu, 2019). In Africa, mobile money services have come as a cure for
a number of liquidity challenges. These services originated in Kenya through
Safaricom Limited and spread to other parts of the continent; for instance, Eco Cash
in Zimbabwe was modelled after M-Pesa from Kenya and just like M-Pesa, Eco Cash
has made cross-border remittances by mobile phones possible (Mararo, 2018).

Mobile money services can be broadly categorised into three groups: m-transfers, m-
payments and m-financial services. M-transfers involve money transfer from one user
to another, normally without any accompanying exchange of goods or services
(Mbithi and Mwikya, 2021). M-financial services are mobile money services in which
mobile money may be linked to a bank account to provide the user with a whole range
of transactions that they would access at a bank branch (Kumala Alianto Saputra
Muhammad, 2021). Users access financial-related services like insurance and micro-
finance among others via their mobile phones. Ahmad et al, (2018) predicted that
poor people are more likely to use mobile phones to undertake financial transactions
than rich people. People in less developed countries have very few options, if any, for
transferring money and accessing banking services. Further, in the developing world
there is less formal banking infrastructure few bank branches, automated teller
machines and low internet penetration (Afawubo Couchoro, Agbaglah and Gbandi,
2020). In the USA and EU countries, it is estimated that SMEs contribute over 60
percent in employment, 40-60 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 30-60
percent to exports (Qureshi, 2020). The Asian Tigers such as India, Indonesia, China,
Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea also have thriving SMEs sectors contributing
between 70-90 percent in employment and an estimated 40 percent contribution to
their respective GDPs (Shettima and Sharma, 2020). In Africa, economic
powerhouses such as South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya, the SME sector is
estimated to contribute over 70 percent in employment and 30-40 percent contribution
to GDP but contribute less than four percent to export earnings ( Mwanzia, 2022).
Emergence of mobile money services in the financial market is playing critical role in
economic development. Lashitew, van Tulder, Liasse (2019) asserts that the success
of the new technology requires enabling environment as a working mobile money
ecosystem requires a concerted effort from many players in the market. In Africa, the
adoption rate of mobile money is high. Initially, focus on determinants to use mobile
money aroused concerned on the social and economic variables (Mararo, 2018). More
interest on the economic impact on performance triggering a number of studies
conducted on micro enterprises indicating positive benefits for those who use it to
carry business (Westman, Kundurpi, Mercado, Burch, 2022). The growth of mobile
money services is a blessing to microenterprises, which otherwise could not be served
well by commercial banks. It is possible for banked individuals to access their
accounts through their phones. Mobile money services are widely being expanded to
reach the rural areas. The ideal it provides has also enhanced the use of the platform
to carry out various transactions that can be offered through banks or registered
agents. The person who makes payment and the person who receives the payment are
linked together with the existing framework. Mobile phones enable both
communication and financial transaction processing. The telecommunication and
banking sectors in sub-Saharan Africa have developed strategies that harness the use
of cell phones to offer mobile money services. This study comes at a time when
mobile money in Botswana is relatively new and growing as opposed to countries
such as Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa (Chitimira and Torerai, 2021),
where mobile money is established. The purpose of this study is to explore the
influence of mobile money services on the growth of SMEs in Botswana.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Concept Of Mobile Money

Mobile money, also referred to as mobile payment, mobile money transfer, and
mobile wallet, generally refers to services operated and performed from a mobile
device such as mobile phone, credit or debit cards (Mararo, 2018). It is further
clarified as the intersection of both banking and telecommunications services
(Chitimira and Torerai, 2021). It involves a diverse set of stakeholders from both
mobile phone operators and financial service institutions. Mobile money services
have been defined as electronic money accounts that can be accessed via mobile
phone (Talom and Tengeh, 2019). Mobile money services offers secure and
convenient means for banked and unbanked people to send and receive money with
mobile phones at home and abroad; anywhere at any time. It contains features such as
mobile wallet, mobile transfer, airtime transfers and mobile banking. Mobile wallet
enables the subscriber to receive, store, send or pay money anywhere any time.
Money transfer options means that one can send money from their mobile money
account to a different subscriber anywhere anytime, which is similar to airtime
transfer, where one can purchase and send airtime to another subscriber within the
same network (Talom and Tengeh, 2020). Mobile banking works closely with banks
to provide banking services to subscribers of mobile money. Use of mobile phone for
financial transaction started with introduction of prepaid mobile phone services that
targeted low income earners who desired more anonymity than post-paid phone
subscribers. Unlike post-paid mobile phone services, prepaid subscribers could simply
walk to a shop, purchase small denomination airtime, key in the details and make their
desired call. This segment of mobile phone users soon became large enough to be a
target for micro-payment features since majority had little or absolutely no interaction
with banks. A decade ago, mobile money for the unbanked did not exist in Africa. In
fact, mobile phones had only started their penetration into the region. Remarkably,
however, by 2011 over 60 million customers had availed themselves for mobile
money subscription, a picture of outstanding growth compared to other technologies
and their adoption (Masocha and Dzomonda, 2018).

2.2 The Concept of SMEs

Although the definition of SME seems to differ significantly across countries or

publications, in most cases, the definition commonly uses the number of employees,
value of assets, value of sales and size of initial capital and turnover. SMEs are,
therefore, defined as businesses with six to 50 employees or with annual revenues less
than 5 Million (Masocha Dzomonda, 2018). It is important to note, however, that
there is no standard definition of SMEs in Botswana. SMEs have been clearly
identified and appreciated as drivers of economic activity in Africa and the world
(Lubua and Semlambo, 2017). Their growth generates increased employment
opportunities, wages, goods and services and increased resources that contribute to
increased tax revenues. It is generally recognized that SMEs face various challenges
which affect their growth and profitability and hence, diminish their ability to
contribute effectively to sustainable business growth. Some of these challenges
include but are not limited to lack of managerial skills, highly competitive
environment, poor debt collection (Islam, Munim, Islam, Karim, 2018), technological
changes, regulatory challenges, lack of affordable credit and financial services to
facilitate business transactions and business growth. For example, customer and
market paired with resources and finance played an important role in ensuring the
SMEs business success according to the study findings by Bosire and Ntale, (2018).
Equipping entrepreneurs with technical and business skills, friendly investment
climate and implementation of sound SMEs policies are some of the areas that can be
advocated for to support SMEs in Botswana
2.3 Mobile Money and SME performance

Mobile money (MM) is a service which permits customers to obtain access to

financial services employing cellular devices, by dialing Unstructured Supplementary
Service Data (USSD) codes (Mararo, 2018).USSD is a communications protocol for
mobile communication technology which is used to send text between mobile
telephones and an application programme in the mobile network, which does not
require users to have access to the internet (John, Gwahula and Msemwa, 2018)
Although the technological innovation is now available in many developing countries,
its use is particularly widespread in countries in which it is difficult form any citizens
to open bank accounts and/or access banking services (Islam, Muzi, Rodriguez and
Meza, 2018). It enables users to store, send and receive money without the
transactions entailing the use of bank accounts. Mobile money has disrupted the
financial sector and the way of transacting. SMEs can now efficiently conduct
financial transactions, anytime, and anywhere, without necessarily having a bank
account (Tengeh and Talom, 2020). This innovation can help to reach those who do
not have access to banking services and thus improve financial inclusion (Bosire and
Ntale, 2018). Talom and Tengeh (2019) demonstrated that mobile commerce
facilitates communication between users. The later scholars went further to show that
the platform improves the efficiency of the business operations. Additional studies
conducted proved that mobile money improves business networking (Islam, Muzi,
Rodriguez and Meza, 2018; Patwardhan, 2018; Mwania, 2018), while other scholars
demonstrated that the technological innovation promotes a cashless economy (Kumari
and Khanna, 2017; Ha 2020; Urhie Amonu, Mbah, Ewetan and Matthew, 2021). All
these benefits taken concurrently will enhance the productivity, decrease the operating
costs and thus improve the performance of the SMEs.

2.4 Mobile Money in Botswana

Mobile phones and their supporting technologies are becoming readily available in
Botswana through the three main service providers MyZaka Mascom Money and
Orange Money, Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) (Motsaborwa, 2020). In
addition, internet connectivity has, on the one hand, evolved significantly from 2G
and 3G to the latest and fastest 4G network, meaning that internet is now more
reliable for mobile devices to operate (Mothobi and Grzybowski, 2017); on the other
hand, financial institutions in Botswana as well as mobile service providers have also
innovatively designed financial products that aid in payments and other financial
transactions the most common ones being m-payments, m-banking, m-transfers,
among others (Tangirala and Nlondiwa, 2019). Mobile money in Botswana has been
in place since 2010, with Orange providing Orange Money; Mascom, MyZaka; Absa,
Cash send; First National Bank Botswana (FNBB), e-Wallet; and Stanbic, Instant
Money. There has generally been an increase in the number of mobile money account
holders across Africa, by about a third, Botswana included (Muchingami, 2018).
Mobile money has the potential to enhance the financial inclusion of the unbanked
population; it also eases transactions for the entire population. Despite the many
benefits that mobile money promises, it appears that its adoption in Botswana has
been much slower than in countries such as Kenya, South Africa and the Philippines
(Motsaborwa, 2020). This study has attempted to find out the influence of mobile
money services on the growth of SMEs in Botswana.
2.5 Theoretical framework

The study is guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) postulated by

Davis (1986). This model, as illustrated in Figure 2.1, posits that user motivation of
technology is guided by two factors, PU and PEOU. Users readily adopt technologies
that they feel bring a usefulness that exceeds their absence. Users also adopt
technologies that they perceive to be easy. If technologies are complicated, users will
shun them. PU and PEOU shape the attitude of the user towards technologies. This
then generates motivation to want to use the technology. External variables determine
a customer’s adoption of technologies; these variables include such things as cost of
technology, trust, security issues, its relevance and the knowledge of the technology,
among others.

Figure 1:TAM Theory

Source (Davis, 1986)

In addition to TAM, the study can be grounded further by introducing two more
theories i.e Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Innovation Diffusion Theory
(IDT). According to TPB, intention (I) is determined by three things, attitude towards
behaviour (A), subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC)
(Masocha and Dzomonda, 2018). Intention and Attitude towards behavior are
components of TAM. SN is defined as an individual’s perception of the social
pressure to make him do something while PBC is an individual’s control over himself
to perform a given behaviour (Mararo, 2018). TBP can therefore explain an
individual’s intention and by extension actual use of technology. In explaining the use
of money, TPB asserts that one has to develop an intention towards the use of mobile
money and also have a positive attitude towards mobile money. In addition to these
two, some individuals will succumb to social pressure from friends and family to use
mobile money so that transactions among those social circles can be easy. Therefore,
according to TBP, an individual needs at least one of the three prerequisites in order
to intend and adopt the use of mobile money.
 2.6 Conceptual Framework
In order to formulate hypotheses, the researcher developed a conceptual framework
for the study as shown in Figure 2.2. The conceptual framework model adapted for
this study, as depicted in the figure below, highlights that mobile money services will
influence some important pillars of business financial operations due to reduced
reliability, safety, increased convenience, and increased efficiency of mobile money
service

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

SMEs business performance

Intervening
Reliability
Convenience variables SME competitiveness
Safety
Cost efficiency

Market conditions

Regulatory conditions

Technology infrastructures

Figure 2: Conceptual Framework

Source (Researcher, 2023)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

The study is exploratory in nature, attempting to understand how SMEs have made
use of mobile money services and impact accruing from such uses. This research
attempted to answer the research questions as they occur in their natural
environmental conditions. A five-point Likert Scale survey questionnaire was used to
obtain the data. The intention was to determine public opinions about mobile money,
and discover how those aspects impacted on the SMEs industry (Dannels, 2018).

3.2 Target Population

The population of the study was from 10 SMEs in Botswana Gaborone. In total the 10
selected SMEs had a population of 360. Thus stratified random sampling was used to
select the respondents out of the whole population was available. According to
Sharma (2017), stratified sampling is a type of probability where members of the
target population are systematically selected. The survey was conducted using self-
administered questionnaire. To calculate the actual sample size, Yamane (1967)
formula was used as follows;

Sample size =n = N/(1+N(e)2.

Therefore,
n= 360/(1+360(0.05) ²
n=189

3.3 Data Collection

For this study primary data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The
questionnaire was divided into two sections. Each section had several five Likert-
scale questions ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. This questionnaire
was adapted from (Dannels, 2018). The questionnaire had guidelines on how to
respond to each question and administered by trained data collection officers to ensure
errors were eliminated in the field and increase response rate.Secondary data was used
in literature review to clarify gaps existing in literature.

3.4 Data Analysis

For the analysis, Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft
Excel statistical packages were used. A data analyst was requested to develop the
SPSS data entry templates supervised by the researcher. Once the questionnaires were
checked for completeness and correct recording, it was then entered into the
developed database for subsequent analyses. The researcher validated entries through
regular checks to ensure data was recorded accurately. Data cleaning was then done
after all the entries. To demonstrate how variables related to data collected, coefficient
of correlation will be used to find out whether dependent variables of transaction cost,
transaction time and convenience, financial accessibility and efficiency and reliability
are correlated with SMEs performance. Multiple regression analyses was used to
determine whether the four independent variables have any significant effect on
SMEs performance.

Findings from this study were summarized using descriptive means like percentages,
means and averages for most of the findings and presented in tables and graphs.
Coefficient of correlation and multiple regression analyses results were presented
using model tables, formulas and interpretation of the findings. Study findings were
further discussed in detail to provide the basis for the conclusions and study
recommendations.
3.5 Ethical Considerations

Though the office of Research and Development in the University of Botswana, the
researcher was exempted from acquiring a research permit, a normal government of
Botswana procedure for conducting research in Botswana. The participants were
made aware that this was scholarly research and that the information they gave would
not be used to victimise or harm them. The participants were also made aware of the
fact that their participation was voluntary, that no one was forced to participate, that
no rewards would be given and that a participant could quit being part of the study at
any time. Bryman (2017) advises that the data collection instrument should inform
respondents about the intentions of the study. The request to participate should be
clear to participants so that they can make an informed decision whether to participate
or not.

FINDINGS

4.1 Demographic Data

Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics relating to the demographic characteristics of

the study’s respondents. These characteristics enable the reader to reflect on the
general features of the individuals upon whom the findings and conclusions of this
study have been based. The majority of respondents was aged 30-40 (65%). The
majority of respondents from the sample was males (60%). Moreover the majority of
respondents were qualified to degree level (45%).

Table 1 Demographic Data

Gender Age Education

male 60% 30-40 65% primary 15%

female 40% 40-50 15% secondary 40%

60+ 20% tertiary 45%

4.2 Benefits of Mobile to SMEs Performance

Figure 3 depicts the distributions of the responses of the respondents according to a 5-

point Likert scale concerning their perceptions of mobile money and mobile money
services. A significant majority (66%) of the respondents either agreed or strongly
agreed that it was safe. More so 59% respondents also agreed that registration for
mobile money was not rigid. A similar majority (55%) either agreed or strongly
agreed that mobile money reduced transactions costs. Furthermore the majority of
34% respondents agreed that mobile money had increased cash flow. Lastly 47%
agreed that mobile money was reliable.

Figure 3: Benefits of Mobile Money

Source (Researcher, 2023)

4.3 Inferential statistics

The researcher identified 4 variables from the data to form a reliable scale against
which to assess the influence of Mobile Money and Mobile Money services upon the
financial performance of the SMEs whose representatives responded to the survey
questionnaire. The researcher evaluated their reliability by using the SPSS version 25
software to determine a Cronbach alpha score for each before commencing with the
analysis to test the hypotheses in the study. Mohajan (2017) explains, Cronbach’s
alpha scores need to be at least from 0.65 to 0.8 if they are to denote significance. The
alpha coefficient noted in Table 2 is 0.835 which suggests that the items exhibit a
reasonable degree of internal consistency concerning reliability. Reliability refers to
the consistency with which particular research instruments generate data and is
assessed by the likelihood that other researchers would be able to generate similar
findings under the same conditions and using the same research techniques

4.4 Reliability of Findings

Table 2 Cronbach Alpha

Construct No. of Items Alpha

Reliability 1 0.796

Safety 1 0.828

Cost efficient 1 0.803

Convenient 1 0.786

Overall 5 0.835
 Cronbach's alpha values for all of the investigated variables ranged from 0.78 to 0.82
as displayed in Table 2 This value was very near to one, indicating that the data used
in the study was trustworthy. As a result, the study's data met all dependability
requirements.

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was also used to analyze the zero
order bivariate correlation between two variables (r). The range of values for the
Pearson correlation coefficient (r) is restricted to -1 to +1. According to Cohen
(1988), the following definitions of connection strength should be used: weak r=.10
to.29; moderate r=.30 to.49; and strong r=.50 to 1.0. As a result, it can be argued that
reliability and SME performance are strongly correlated (r=.759). Also showing a
significant inverse association (r=.948) was safety of mobile money. SME
performance and cost efficiency showed a significant link (r=.877). Last but not least,
there was a significant correlation between convenience of Mobile money and SMEs
performance (r=.854).

Table 3: Pearson Correlations

Reliability Safety Cost efficient Convenient

SME Pearson
Performance Correlation 1 .759** .948** .877**

Sig. (2-tailed)
.000 .000 .000

N 189 189 189 189

Reliability Pearson
.759** 1 .704** .645**
Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)
.000 .000 .000

N 189 189 189 189

Safety Pearson
.948** .704** 1 .929**
Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)
.000 .000 .000
 N 189 189 189 189

Cost efficient Pearson

.877** .645** .929** .855**
Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

.000 .000 .000

N 189 189 189 189

Convenient Pearson
.854** .803** .612** .675**
correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000

N 189 189 189 189

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

4.4 Regression
Information on the regression line's capacity to explain all of the variation in the
dependent variable may be found in the model summary table.

Table 4: Model Summary

Adjusted R
Model R R Square Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .980a .961 .959 .24113

a. Predictors: (Constant), reliability, safety , cost efficiency and convenience

Table 4 displays the strength of the relationship between supply chain performance
and the supply chain operations (reliability, safety, cost efficiency and convenience).
It is obvious from the determination coefficients that there is a significant relationship
between the dependent and independent variables given an R2 value of.961 and an
adjusted value of .959. This reveals that 96.1% of changes in supply chain
performance are attributable to independent factors (reliability, safety, cost efficiency
and convenience).
Table 5: ANOVAb

Sum of
Model Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 135.533 6 22.589 451.095 .000a

Residual 4.657 93 .050

Total 140.190 99

a. Predictors: (Constant), reliability, safety , cost efficiency and convenience

b. Dependent Variable: SME Performance

In order to assess whether there is a significant link between the variables, analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was employed to compare two or more means concurrently
(dependent and independent variables). This helps to emphasize the significance of
the regression model. The regression model has a margin of error of p =.000, which
indicates that there is a 0.00 percent chance that it will make an inaccurate prediction,
based on the ANOVA results in Table 5. This illustrates how significant the model is.
More specifically, the crucial value.000 is smaller than the F-statistic, which leads the
researcher to conclude that the model was appropriate for the investigation.
4.5 Coefficient of Correlation
To ascertain the relationship between performance and the independent variables,
multiple regression analysis was carried out.
Table 6: Coefficientsa

Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients

Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.

1 (Constant) .344 .088 3.932 .000

Reliability
.174 .073 .170 2.383 .019

Safety
.690 .076 .734 9.028 .000

Cost efficiency
.057 .054 .060 1.062 .291

Convenience
.026 .079 .029 .336 .738

a. Dependent Variable: to what extent has reliability, safety , cost

efficiency and convenience of Mobile Money enhanced SME
performance?

Table 6’s conclusions show that if reliability, safety , cost efficiency and
convenience, SME performance will be 0.34 at zero. It was found that a unit increase
in reliability will lead to an increase in SME performance of.176 (p=.019) while
keeping other parameters (safety, cost efficiency and convenience) constant.
Furthermore, an increase in safety will result in a.(p =.000) increase in SME
performance while keeping other factors (reliability, cost efficiency and convenience)
at their current levels. A unit increase in cost efficiency will lead to a.057 rise in SME
performance, keeping other factors (reliability, safety and convenience) constant (p
=.291). As a result, the researcher rejects the null hypothesis. Additionally, it was
discovered that a unit increase in convenience will reduce SME performance by.026
(p=.738) while keeping other factors (reliability, safety and cost efficiency) constant.
As a result, the researcher rejects the accepts the hypothesis that convenience is
significantly correlated with SME performance.
 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Over the past decade, Mobile Money has improved financial inclusion in several
developing countries but has also improved the way of life of many households and
the business operations of many SMEs. The Mobile Money services merits could be
used to address some of the difficulties faced by the SMEs in Botswana. Mindful of
these advantages and the growing uptake of the platform in Botswana, the researchers
investigated the impact of the mobile money payment and receipt services on financial
performance. Taken collectively, the independent variables predicted 96% of the
variance in performance of the SMEs that participated in the study after they had
begun to use Mobile Money services. In line with the literature, it can be concluded
that the adoption of Mobile Money services exerted a significantly positive influence
on the financial performance of the SMEs in this study.

Thus the study recommends that;

 The government should investigate the feasibility of promulgating laws that

would make Mobile Money service providers licensed financial institutions, as
this would significantly reduce their operating costs and enable them to make
their services more accessible to users. The partnerships which Mobile Money
service providers have with commercial banks at present entail considerable
expense and prevent them from making their services more affordable.

 Secondly, the paper recommends that the government should encourage SMEs to
make Mobile Money transactions through appropriate tax incentives.

 Finally, the government,through the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry

as one of its chief regulators, should provide support to the SME sector in the
form of policies that facilitate an environment which is conducive to economic
growth.

 Commercial banks must be encouraged to provide financial assistance to SMEs,

even if doing so necessitates the government assuming responsibility for loans
which are made to SMEs which have been assessed as being viable

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