Dissertation (MA Business Administration)Worldwide including Tanzania SMEs play a great role in employment creation, income generation and economic growth. However, in Tanzania SME sector is faced by a number of factors including socio-cultural factors (SCFs) which hinder its development. The study focused on the assessment of the impact of SCFs on the performance of women SMEs in Tanzania involving food vendors and household retail shops in Dodoma urban and Chamwino districts in Dodoma region. The study employed both cross-sectional survey and case study research designs in which 80 women SMEs (n=80) were surveyed using a questionnaire. Four case studies were developed in order to capture the insight about SCFs. Also FGD was used in order to get adequate supportive evidence for qualitative analysis. Proportionate stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used in the collection of primary data. The findings show that, SCFs affect negatively the performance of women SMEs include family roles contradicting business roles, immobility of women SMEs, lack of adequate education and business training, lack of freedom of women SMEs to control their business funds, inability of women SMEs to borrow from FIs due to lack of collateral, misbehavior, poor attitude and support from society members including husbands. The findings also indicate that role models and ethnicity are important factors in nurturing the performance of women SMEs. The study concludes that SCFs have negative impact on the performance of women SMEs in Tanzania. We recommend that, serious efforts should be made by the government in order to address SCFs and their effects. Such efforts should include discouraging the society to favour such SCFs, developing case studies of successful women SMEs and be integrated in education curricula.