Abstract:
The study set out to assess the role of Information and Communication Technology (Ecommerce
tools, Networking components/Internet, and communication technology) on the
growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), analyze how the use of Customer
Relationship Management systems (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems,
Decision Support Systems (DSS), Mobile communication, VOIP, Mobile Money Transfer
(MMT) and use social media technologies affects the growth of SMEs. Descriptive survey
design was used; a sample of 69 SMEs from a total of 464 registered SME’s was selected using
Simple random sampling in Nairobi County. Primary data was collected using semi- structured
questionnaires. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Study
findings indicated that e-commerce tools were highly adopted by SMEs with mobile payment
systems being the highest adopted, online shopping and online catalogues for products and
services. Adoption of e-commerce tools related to growth of SMEs. CRM systems were highly
adopted by SMEs and had a moderate positive correlation their growth. Findings indicated that
high growth SMEs was mostly associated with usage of social media and communication
technology. The study recommended that SMEs should consider wide flexible solutions of open
source software solutions, scalable platforms to allow progressive upgrade to meet increasing use
and cloud solutions. Research should be conducted to identify additional challenges that will
enable SMEs operations to be efficient, cost-effective to ensure their growth and sustainability.
