Food sustains human life in any environment. Small Enterprises(SE) are the backbone of contemporary economies and they contribute immensely on jobs creation. Botswana is not unique in this regard, with an increasing number of small enterprises engaged in food trading. The food sector is ripe for development, particularly in Botswana's two main towns, Gaborone and Francistown. Tight business competition, an inability to meet ever-increasing customer service expectations, cost control, particularly in the transportation sector, risk identification and mitigation, supply chain visibility, developing and preserving supplier and partner relationships, and staying current with technological advancements are the major challenges that SEs are currently facing. With the addition of Supply Chain Management (SCM), it is anticipated that company operations will become more flexible and resilient, allowing them to adjust quickly, efficiently, and effectively to all types of market changes, hence increasing business competitiveness. The study used a random sample of 137 SE entrepreneurs in the food sector from Gaborone and Francistown. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of SCM on business performance (BP) and business competitiveness (BC). The data were analysed using SMART PLS 3, which utilised measurement and structural equation modelling to demonstrate data validity, reliability, and construct relationships. The findings indicate that there is a direct positive correlation between SCM and both BP and BC. However, the data indicated a negligible mediation effect of BP on the relationship between SCM and BC.

Keywords : Supply Chain Management, Business Performance, Business Competitiveness, Small Enterprises, Informal Sector.