Fusion microfinance: expansion with information technology

Learning outcomes After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to understand the following: the functioning of the microfinance institutions (MFIs); how the importance of using information technology (IT) can generate a competitive edge; and how emergent technologies, business analytics play a significant role in the expansion of business by helping in decision-making and meet up the corporate social responsibility by ethical disposal of electronic waste. Case overview/synopsis Fusion Microfinance Private Limited is a start-up company with a vision to build a professionally managed MFI that can achieve a healthy amalgamation of social and financial sustainability. It is operational in the less penetrated North Central part of India spread across four states (Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi). Fusion appreciated the importance of IT and gradually leveraged IT to help the automation of various functions. Fusion wants to further optimize the organizational outreach to its rural clients by integrating its core function with IT. IT facilitates its huge client network conveniently with the usage of IT. Fusion also aims further to reduce its carbon footprint, thus moving towards the goal of achieving environmental sustainability through IT. Complexity academic level Undergraduate- or graduate-level course on management information systems, environmental sustainability or emergent technologies. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

MULTIPLE CROSS-BORROWING TRENDS AMONG MICROFINANCE BENEFICIERIES: AN ANALYSIS OF PERSONAL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL FACTORS

Cross borrowing is the ability of a beneficiary to borrow from different lenders simultaneously or borrows from one lender to make repayment to another debt.The commercialisation of the microfinance sector leads to an increased competition for attaining clients and strict objective to seek profitability, that results in more than one Microfinance Institution (MFI) operating in an area. The rapid growth among microfinance sector offers its beneficiaries a scope to borrow from multiple sources, with easy formalities, within short period of time.While various studies acknowledged that the multiple memberships of credit sources among rural clients makes repayment difficulties and collaboration of total economic sustainability of clients. This paper tries to analyse and enlist some personal, entrepreneurial and microfinance provider related factors which leads them to simultaneous multiple accessing of credit from various sources. The paper concludes that the adverse income shocks in general economic conditions of the client, improper investment of fund, low return from the investment, new commercialised lending pattern of MFIs are the major reasons of simultaneous multiple borrowing trend among microfinance clients.

A PREVIDÊNCIA SOCIAL RURAL SOB CHECK-UP: UMA ANÁLISE CRÍTICA DOS DADOS ENCONTRADOS E SOLUÇÕES PARA A SUA DESJUDICIALIZAÇÃO.

The purpose of this paper is to uncover the numbers of rural social security, with the aim of critically analyzing them, and to point out ways to enable their judicialization. For this purpose, as a methodology, the jurisprudence of the higher courts was researched, exploratory bibliographic research and quantitative and qualitative analyzes were used. It was discovered, verbi gratia, that the amount of rural social security benefits paid by the INSS, in 2015, was 50% higher than the population residing in the rural area, something enigmatic and that demanded investigation. In order to better understand this complex Brazilian social security framework –especially the one related to the rural area– the numbers referring to social security benefits aimed at urban and rural clients, the amount of urban and rural benefits per region will be displayed in this disquisition. country, which types of benefits are granted in greater volume, the degree of judicialization of social security claims by type of benefits and the importance of rural social security for municipal economies, among other no less relevant data. Finally, after a critical analysis of the denoted data, some ways will be pointed out to better understand what has been happening with the Brazilian rural welfare and what are the most appropriate solutions to be implemented to correct the distortions found.

An ethnographic justification for establishment of a contextual engineering discipline

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an ethnographic analysis of the infrastructure intervention process in rural, non-industrialized countries, providing justification for a new approach to technical design. The new approach, Contextual Engineering, merges engineering with sociology to identify place-based conditions that may influence adoption of technological interventions. Design/methodology/approach A survey of international engineering practitioners, combined with the author's personal journals from 18 international project experiences are qualitatively analyzed using nVivo software to develop a stronger understanding of what motivates stakeholders to undertake humanitarian engineering work, how they incorporate place-based conditions and how their decision-making affects intervention outcomes. Findings Critical findings include the need for practitioner self-reflection to recognize motivations and beliefs; recognition that industrialized-world technology may not function effectively if it doesn’t acknowledge the client’s societal standards; identification of local context to determine practices, knowledge and beliefs that reside uniquely within the client community; resistance to application of practitioner standards that may not correspond with client conditions, understandings and needs; analysis of power dynamics within the client community, between client and neighboring communities, and among project stakeholders; and incorporation of innovative self-sufficiency in technical infrastructure design. Originality/value This paper follows upon previous published research by the author regarding the origin and application of her new approach to rural international infrastructure design, Contextual Engineering, and uses ethnographic qualitative analysis to identify key conditions that justify the Contextual Engineering discipline to more effectively serve rural clients from alternately developed societies.

A Study Of Expansion Of The Fmcg Market Across Rural Areas

The corporate companies dealing with FMCG products have started focusing on rural markets as the urban markets have become saturated and highly competitive. Capturing the rural markets brings forth a whole new set of challenges as it is laborious to break in. This market presents the companies with gamut challenges on a new dimension which demand entirely different strategies as compared to the ones used in urban areas. Studying the rural markets for rural markets has become crucial more than ever. It is an objective learning, psychiatry of dispersion, impact of the FMCG in rural areas. This research uses diverse utensils, procedure toward analyze composed records. Several of the features used in analyzing the data are the consumer characteristics like educational qualifications, professions they are in, and the income levels. The role of TV media advertising is also analyzed. Many deals and promotions advertised on TV are investigated. The scope of authority wield by publicity happening customer choice production has looked into. The different levels of media exposure and preferable TV watching times and their favorite programs considered while analyzing the data. The spending prototype of rural clients on FMCG is examined and further categorized based on their income levels, educational qualifications, and legal awareness of consumer act. All the analyzed data, results, and suggestions presented in the visual formats.

Improving Access to Specialist Dental Services Using a Telehealth Platform in Victoria, Australia

Australians in rural and remote locations have worse health outcomes compared to that of their metropolitan counterparts and this is due in part to poor access to health services. Public specialist dental services in Victoria, Australia are predominantly offered in the capital city Melbourne. For rural patients this can mean considerable travel, out of pocket costs and delays due to long wait-times. In 2015 Dental Health Service Victoria (DHSV) embarked on a pilot project to enable access to rural clients by linking community dental clinics with the Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne using a Telehealth platform. Aim: The objectives of the pilot were to develop specialist care pathways and enable patient access, support community clinicians to work to full scope through a peer education approach and to identify the appropriate equipment and telehealth platform to support this model of care. Method: DHSV launched its pilot project June 2015 collaborating with four Community Dental sites. The specialties trialled during the pilot project were Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery, Endodontics and Orthodontics. An action based research framework was adopted so that improvements to the operational framework and clinical pathways could be made throughout the life of the pilot. Results: By the end of the pilot programme, DHSV was satisfied the program objectives had been met and the modality was accepted by specialists, community dentists, and patients as a satisfactory substitution for a traditional face-to-face referral and consult mode. Conclusion: Based on this outcome, the programme was endorsed and implemented across the state of Victoria in January 2018.

1290. A Model for “At-Distance” PrEP Navigation: Acceptability and Early Insights

Background HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness and uptake among at-risk individuals remains suboptimal despite clear evidence of efficacy. Health navigators and peer educators have been employed to facilitate linkage and retention in many aspects of HIV prevention and care, including to improve PrEP utilization. Yet, the use of health navigators to improve PrEP utilization has not been well-explored in rural areas where unique challenges to HIV care have been well documented. Little is known, too, about how telemedicine may strengthen these efforts. We assessed acceptability and evaluated a health navigation program that primarily engages clients through at-distance technology-based methods. Methods To guide the design and implementation of a pilot PrEP tele-navigation program, we conducted a survey in at-risk clients contacted through social networks and at a state-funded STI clinic in New Hampshire. Approximately nine months after the launch of the navigation platform, we analyzed characteristics of client-navigator interactions. Feedback surveys were distributed to clients 3 months following engagement with the navigator. Results From July 2017 to April 2018, 139 individuals engaged the navigator program via email, text, chat, phone call, or in-person. Among the most common services provided were PrEP counseling (n = 63 or 45% of inquiries), referral to STI/HIV testing (22%), and risk reduction counseling (19%). Eight clients have been linked to PrEP care to-date. Qualitative analysis of client-navigator interactions revealed a variety of recurring barriers expressed by clients including concerns maintaining confidentiality with parents and partners, side effects of PrEP, and financial constraints. Clients provided suggestions for program improvement and indicated they felt engagement with the program increased knowledge of PrEP as well as linkage to testing and HIV prevention services. Conclusion Our pilot program highlighted the diverse obstacles to PrEP utilization in at-risk rural clients, and suggests at-distance PrEP navigation and telemedicine can support improved PrEP utilization in the rural United States. Such a navigator program should be equipped to engage clients along the PrEP care continuum. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Telerehabilitation in Rural Areas: A Qualitative Investigation of Pre-service Rehabilitation Professionals’ Perspectives

Telerehabilitation (TR) presents an innovative technology capable of helping to address the rehabilitation needs of people with disabilities (PWDs) in rural areas. Because of social and environmental barriers for rural clients, TR offers an alternative method to lessen the impact of obstacles for service delivery in geographically isolated rural areas. This study aims to explore benefits and limitations of using TR to provide rehabilitation services to clients in rural areas. In this qualitative study, pre-service professionals identified the value of suitability, impact of rate of use, and technological tools to enhance TR services while plausible interference of services, ethical issues, and apprehensions for implementation represented potential hindrances for the use of this technology in rural areas. Implications for rehabilitation educators, practitioners and researchers are considered.