ICT possession among Congolese SMEs: an exploratory study
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
ISSN: 1462-6004
Article publication date: 13 May 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possession of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing economy of the Democratic Republic (DR) of the Congo.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of Congolese SMEs in two major cities was conducted.
Findings
The results of the study demonstrate that nearly 51 percent of SMEs in the sample reported a cell phone number, making this tool the most popular among SMEs studied. In total, 31 percent of SMEs reported an e-mail address while only 3 percent of them reported having a firm web site. Far <1 percent reported a fax number, while none of the SMEs in the sample used a fixed telephone line. The telecommunications sector demonstrated the highest rate of ICT usage. The findings give consistency to what the body of research has concluded relative to the use of mobile telephone by SMEs in developing economies.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the research into ICT usage by SMEs in developing countries by analyzing a sample of SMEs in the DR Congo ever attempted.
Keywords
Citation
D. Kabongo, J. and O. Okpara, J. (2014), "ICT possession among Congolese SMEs: an exploratory study", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 313-326. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-10-2013-0143
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited