COVID-19 Pandemic: Microfinance and Social Sustainability of Grameen Bank Borrowers in South-West Bangladesh

Abstract

As important as social sustainability is to the sustainable development agenda, there is a lack of research to define and operationalise the concept. This research aims to add to the existing knowledge by developing a comprehensive scale for evaluating social sustainability and microfinance at the vulnerable level. We argue that a multidimensional concept of social sustainability incorporates equity, diversity, social cohesion, quality of life, and democracy and governance. An incomplete picture of social sustainability may result if these dimensions are ignored. Factor analysis examines the scale’s validity, reliability, and dimensionality. Using microfinance as a case study, we demonstrate how the social sustainability scale can be used in practice. Women microfinance users in rural and coastal areas in the Satkhira District of Bangladesh’s southwest were surveyed for this paper using data from a questionnaire survey that included 223 respondents from rural and coastal regions (Shyamnagar and Kaliganj Upazilas). According to this new research, improved microfinance positively and significantly impacts various aspects of social sustainability and overall social sustainability.