Improving Rural Livelihoods in North East Kenya: Evidence of Sharia Cooperatives Outreach

Sharia cooperatives (SACCO) are essential low-cost financing that helps underserved communities in Kenya through giving loans, savings, school fees, and considerable group lending. This research used both the structured questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion methods to investigate Sharia cooperatives providers and clients as the best means of financial inclusion to support the disadvantaged people in North-East Kenya (NEK) counties. Four dimensions of financing outreach including scope, cost, worth, and depth sharia cooperatives outreach have been studied. The results have shown Kenyans sharia cooperatives have not achieved a reasonable scope of outreach. This might be due to what is found in the study the lack of qualified sharia cooperatives staff and both financial and digital financial illiteracies of the clients. The clients were found to have low knowledge of their products and services, lack of using the internet and digital devices, and more than 80% of them undertaking transactions at the premises and preferred direct contact. Moreover, the results showed the investigated SACCO did not reach the optimal worth outreach Due to the increase in the number of underserved people and the high rate of poverty in the remote rural areas. The results also show SACCO in Kenya have achieved reasonable depth outreach since they are covered the underserved community members such as women, youth but need to exert still more efforts to reach the remote rural areas. Although the customers have seen the cost of sharia cooperative services is reasonable, the results showed the high cost of attracting new clients. That might be due to the unused of the targeted communities the new means of connections such as webmail, internet, and smart devices. Based on these results the study might recommend that these SACCO might need to implement effective training strategies to enhance clients and staff knowledge to improve financial and digital illiteracy to improve the scope, worth, and cost outreach dimensions. The results also show low depth outreach due to the poor basic infrastructures, lack of capital to adopt wireless finance to expand to remote areas. For this study might recommend more capital injection for SACCO to adopt digital financial technology. These results give good policy implication for the Islamic Development Institution (IsDB), Islamic financial institutions, investors, and other alike to help these sharia cooperatives through capital injection, financial awareness seminars, telecommunication companies, and building capacity programs to promote this low-cost financing for the most disadvantaged Muslim minority in Kenya.

Impact of Internet Integrated Financial Education on Students’ Financial Awareness and Financial Behavior

In daily life, most people engage in money-related behavior. Adequate financial knowledge is required to successfully manage tasks, such as daily expenditure and the transformation of assets or debts, small, or large. However, the extent of financial knowledge may vary between individuals. With inadequate financial knowledge, people may easily fall into financial difficulties without having sufficient knowledge to redress them. A total of 217 students from departments of finance in universities in Fujian completed an 18-week educational course delivered via the Internet on integrated financial education (5h per week for a total of 90h). The conclusions were as follows: (1) The Internet can be used to provide education on making ends meet, cutting costs, and increasing profits. It is suitable for beginner students and new graduates who are rapidly accumulating money management experience. (2) Knowledge provided in the course includes the causes of investment, comprehensive changes in the market, unexpected risks, and wrong decision-making. As such, education provided through the Internet can assist in the teaching of money management and investment. (3) Providing teaching on integrated financial education through the Internet avoids the pitfalls of getting lost in the real-world investment market. We expected to cultivate students’ finance-related knowledge, skills, and attitudes through internalization of the financial literacy of money management.

Subjectively perceived change in consumption along the living standards in old ages

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER The aim of our research is to provide a picture of the conditions for providing the income background necessary for old age, the spending habits of the 50 plus age group, and to illustrate how the old ages goup of our survey, the elderly age group we survey perceives changes in their spending in the last 10-year. METHODOLOGY We used a representative personal survey with 500 Hungarian people. This survey was made in February 2020 on a targeted sample of the Hungarian population aged 50-70. In the analysis method, we used cluster formation, because we tried to identify groups showing different consumption changes based on the consumption categories of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS, NEW FINDINGS The results show that the people who participated in the survey had little perception of a change in their spending compared to their life 10 years before. On the other hand, our retirement income in old age may lag far behind the income in active, working years, so we can assume that if the significant decline in income did not affect consumption patterns, old-age income may be supplemented by savings in old age. EMPIRICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH The clusters that we made shows well that the spendings of the 50-plus age group are also significant for the economy as a whole. The types of their expenditures is diverse and there is a lot of items that they would not necessarily be able to afford from an average income funded by the pension scheme. The characteristics of the clusters also show that there is a positive relationship between financial awareness (planning spending, exploring sales) and age. In our oppinion this is the reason why financial awareness education, the communications about this is very important. The financial management of households can be incorporated into the education of children from an early age. Acknowledgments: This research was partially supported by the Human Resource Development Operational Programme, grant No.: EFOP-3.6.1-16-2016-00004 “Comprehensive developments at the University of Pécs for the implementation of intelligent specialization”

Financial knowledge, attitude and investment practices among Indian doctors

Background: Doctors are particularly vulnerable to financial problems because of their unsatisfactory levels of financial knowledge and the lack of awareness in terms of investments. This study aimed to evaluate financial knowledge, attitude and investment practices among Indian doctors.Methods: An online questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted across 286 registered Indian medical practitioners (N=286). The data was collected by a pre-validated online questionnaire. The financial knowledge score was calculated using 4 questions to determine financial knowledge. The attitude was assessed using responses to 4 questions on investment using Likert scale. Financial practices were determined using responses to their preferred investment options. Data was analyzed using non-parametric tests (Kruskal Wallis test, median value), Chi-square test and Pearson’s coefficient.Results: It was found that male doctors had higher financial knowledge as compared to female doctors (p=0.011). Financial knowledge was significantly associated with the age (p≤0.0001) of the study population. The influence of the nature of employment over the financial attitude of Indian doctors was statistically significant (p=0.009). A statistically significant association was seen between financial knowledge and financial practices (p=0.012).Conclusions: There is a need to create an optimal level of financial awareness among Indian doctors. Increasing the financial knowledge of doctors through financial awareness programs initially may have a positive implication on their financial practices later on.

Cash economy, criminality and cash regulation in Ethiopia

Purpose This paper aims to examine the contribution of Ethiopia’s cash economy to financial crimes. It also investigates the regulation of cash in the context of controlling crime stemming from the cash economy. Design/methodology/approach This study relies on primary data generated from 20 interviewees drawn from the National Bank of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Financial Intelligence Center, selected commercial banks and law enforcement agencies and document review from government reports, media press and statutes, as well as secondary data from online and offline sources. Findings The cash-intensive nature of Ethiopia’s economy has enabled a significant amount of cash to circulate outside of the formal financial system. This money is partly to blame for the prevalence of criminal activities such as cash hoarding, corruption and illicit financial flows. To address the threat of crime posed by the cash economy, the Ethiopian Government has taken measures such as restricting cash withdrawals from financial institutions, limiting the amount of cash individuals can hold and demonetizing the banknotes. The measures enable the banks to collect the cash circulating outside of the formal financial sector. However, the effect of these measures on reducing future criminality remains uncertain. Improving the financial inclusivity of the country, specifically expanding basic financial products to the rural areas, digitalizing the country’s payment system, raising general financial awareness and establishing a strong financial consumer protection framework would play a critical role in reducing future criminality and transforming the cash-intensive into a cashless economy. Originality/value This paper provides a first-of-its-kind analytical perspective on the contribution of Ethiopia’s cash economy to criminal activity and the adequacy of countermeasures so far taken.

STRATEGIES, CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN CAMPUS IN UiTM PERAK

Green initiatives have become a phenomenon globally now. This has taken seriously all parties regarding the process of environmental sustainability. Sustainable Development Goals had been used as a guideline towards this agenda. The Malaysian government issued the Green Technology Policy in July 2009 to accelerate the national economy and promote sustainable development. Meanwhile, green technology has been applied to universities in Malaysia to achieve green campus status under the UI Green Metric. Numerous universities in Malaysia have begun to take this issue seriously, including UiTM Perak. Three research objectives had been developed; (1) to determine strategies in promoting green campus in UiTM Perak, (2) to identify challenges in implementing green campus in UiTM Perak and (3) to recommend solutions to overcome the challenges in implementing green campus in UiTM Perak. A qualitative method approach by using a semi-structured interview with the Green Campus Committee had been adopted. The data is analysed using content analysis. The research revealed that despite several green initiatives implemented by UiTM Perak, there are also challenges occurring. Among them are financial, awareness and knowledge. To overcome these challenges, the management of UiTM Perak had outlined several actions to be taken. In conclusion, the green campus initiative can give many benefits towards a sustainable environment in UiTM Perak. Indeed, this agenda needs support by all parties.

Financial literacy programmes targeting the poor: the possibilities of using financial literacy as a tool for financial inclusion

The main aim of this study is to examine the nature of the term financial literacy and link it to opportunities for financial inclusion. The author uses experience of some Hungarian programmes. Financial literacy is the focus of some of them, while in other cases it is just a part of a more complex initiative. After the literature review, the study offers answers for the following research questions: • What are the main characteristics of existing financial literacy programmes in Hungary? • How financial exclusion and the lack of financial literacy are connected in practice? • What are the strengths (achievements) and weaknesses (pitfalls and disadvantages) of existing financial literacy programmes related to the financial inclusion of poor and marginalized social groups? Data from semi-structured in-depth expert interviews, documents and former research papers were collected for identifying Hungarian financial literacy programmes and their existing, missing and potential connections to financial inclusion. Originality of the Research In the literature, there are few articles that connect financial literacy and financial inclusion. Similarly, in practice, financial literacy programmes rarely target the poor. In turn, financial awareness is a very strong prerequisite of financial inclusion, e.g. successful debt settlement for financially vulnerable groups. The findings from the study will enlighten policy-makers, managers of financial institutions and financial inclusion advocates on the importance of special context and complexity of financial literacy programmes provided for the poor.

Social insurance knowledge: implications for education

As the increasing impact of financialization on our lives, an extensive awareness of insurance – an integral part of financial knowledge, proves ever more important. A conducted in Poland survey shows that Poles, especially women, the less educated and those living in rural areas, have very limited knowledge about insurance. In order to increase this knowledge and financial awareness, the state should not only strive to provide a proper education, but also take actions to broaden the actual level of this knowledge and foster informed financial behaviour on the part of individuals.

Impact of religiosity and branding on SMEs performance: does financial literacy play a role?

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between religiosity and branding on small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs’) performance in Saudi Arabia. It also examines the mediating role of financial literacy on the relationship among Islamic religiosity, branding and SMEs’ performance. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts the purposive sampling technique in three major commercial cities, namely, Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Qassim to sample 100 SMEs each, resulting in a total sampling of 300 SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the hypotheses formulated in this study. The structural equation modeling is aided with the help of Smart-PLS software. Findings This study finds that Islamic branding (on customer, compliance and origin) significantly affect financial attitude, while Islamic religiosity affects financial awareness among the SMEs. Findings reveal that there is a mediating role of financial awareness on the relationship between Islamic branding and Islamic religiosity with the SMEs’ performance. No mediation effect was recorded for financial attitude and financial knowledge. Further investigation reveals that financial attitude, financial awareness, Islamic branding (compliance and origin) and Islamic religiosity were the most significant determinants of SMEs’ performance in the context of Saudi Arabia. Research limitations/implications This study is conducted on SMEs in Saudi Arabia only. Further studies are required to examine SMEs in other Islamic countries and regions to improve the explanatory power of financial literacy on Islamic religiosity and Islamic branding for improved SMEs performance. Originality/value This study establishes that Islamic religiosity and branding could further increase the predictive power of financial literacy on SMEs’ performance. This study concludes that efforts to improve financial literacy should be religion-based as well as culture-based depending on where the SMEs are located so that specific strategies can be implemented, to enable the conducive growth of the SMEs and maximize the contribution of the SMEs to economic growth.

The Relationship between Decision and Payment Habits and Its Relation with Wasting—Evidence from Hungary

The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between overspending and the method of payment, to highlight its causes. The non-representative survey was conducted between 2020 and 2021 in Hungary (n = 499) using the snowball sampling of data collection. They examined the relationship between age, education, place of residence, and payment methods, and analyzed the impact of internal and external factors on cash consumption and sustainability. The results showed that the use of cash as a method of payment is characteristic with advancing age, and higher education has a higher willingness to pay electronically according to the examined sample, and the existence of electronic access is not related to the size of the settlement. It can be stated that the majority of respondents have no choice when choosing a payment method. The answers reflect confidence in electronic payment solutions (a value of 2.21 on a six-point scale). Each group believes that they can consciously plan their budget (alternative budget). With proper communication and awareness of these influencing factors, financial awareness can be strengthened.