Purpose: The collapse of some of the commercial banks in Kenya has sparked concerns over the financial performance of the banking industry in Kenya. Due to this challenge, stakeholders, including creditors, depositors, employees, and investors, have incurred huge financial losses. Interest rates are crucial macroeconomic indicators that significantly influence the cost of capital and borrowing for firms. Understanding how interest rates affect the financial performance of commercial banks holds significance for investors, policymakers, and corporate decision-makers. The study sought to establish the effect of effective interest rates on the financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya. Methodology: ROA was used as a metric to measure financial performance. The study was guided by the Loanable Funds Theory. The study population comprised all 39 commercial banks in Kenya, employing a descriptive research design utilising a comprehensive dataset spanning ten years, from 2015 to 2024, comprising financial statements of commercial banks in Kenya and interest rate data from the Central Bank of Kenya. A census method was adopted. Data was encoded and processed using statistics software (STATA version 18). Descriptive statistics were produced for all the numerical data. Inferential statistics were employed using the panel regression model. The results were presented using tables. Findings: The study revealed the R2 value of 0.412, implying that 41.2% of the variations in the perceived financial performance can be explained by the variations in the effective interest rates, while factors not studied in this research contribute 38.8% of the variance in the dependent variable. Panel regression results concluded that effective interest rates have a positive and significant effect on the financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya, with a coefficient value of 0.03910. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommended that commercial banks in Kenya and CBK should promote interest rate frameworks that enhance transparency, risk-based pricing, and competitiveness across the banking sector. The study recommends policies that encourage banks to optimise effective interest rates through ethical incorporation of fees and compounding structures, while ensuring full disclosure to borrowers.

This study examines the initial effectiveness of the Loan and Grant Withdrawal System implemented by the Regional Financial Management Agency of DKI Jakarta Province in managing loan and grant funds for the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit project. This research is motivated by the previous manual financial management process which resulted in delayed verification, frequent document revisions, limited tracking access, and inefficiencies that potentially increased project risks and financial penalties. The objective of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of the digital system and identify supporting and inhibiting factors during its early implementation stage. This research uses a qualitative descriptive approach through in depth interviews, direct observations, and document analysis involving officers from the Regional Financial Management Agency and Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit Company. The research findings indicate that the implementation of the digital system has significantly improved processing speed, data accuracy, document management, and transparency in financial reporting. The system enables real time monitoring, reduces administrative errors, and strengthens accountability in public financial governance. Users also expressed higher satisfaction due to automated validation features and a more structured workflow process. However, technical constraints and limited user training were identified as challenges that need to be addressed for optimal system utilization. This study concludes that the digital withdrawal system is effective in improving the management of loan and grant funds for large scale infrastructure projects. Further development and continuous evaluation are recommended to enhance system performance and sustainability in public financial management.

Women who own and operate businesses serve as major accelerators of rural economic development in India by providing people with job opportunities, building local economies, and advancing community development goals. While facing challenges stemming from social and economic constraints (e.g., limited access to loan funds and restrictive mobility) as well as the persistence of traditional gender-based assumptions about women's roles in society, women living in rural areas have been innovative and persistent in developing micro-enterprises, creating self-help groups (SHGs), and pursuing various forms of farm and non-farm business opportunities including digital technologies. This report looks at trends in the area of women entrepreneurship in rural India based on secondary sources of information including reports issued by various government departments, the national bank of agriculture and rural development (NABARD), the national rural livelihoods mission (NRLM), as well as existing academic literature. Findings indicate that women entrepreneurs create income, jobs, reduce poverty, and empower themselves and their families through their contributions to the regional economy and the establishment of community-based businesses. The study also identifies the following factors that drive the growth of women-owned businesses: SHG–Bank Linkage programs, microfinance institutions, skill development training, digital platform access, and market linkages. The results of this study demonstrate that through building on each of these drivers, women-owned enterprises could grow significantly and, therefore, promote increased rural economic development in India. As a result, the paper concludes that the economic empowerment of rural women entrepreneurs provides an important path towards achieving sustainable and equitable rural development in India.

Financial literacy is increasingly vital in today’s complex economic context, pre-service teachers often lack the necessary skills to manage personal finances effectively. This study aimed to (1) examine the problems in developing programs to promote financial literacy among pre-service teachers, (2) identify the need for such programs, and (3) analyze the key components of financial literacy relevant to this group. A mixed-method approach was employed, combining qualitative interviews with financial experts and education professionals with quantitative surveys administered to pre-service teachers. Findings revealed significant gaps in financial management, particularly in budgeting, debt management, and saving strategies. Expert insights highlighted three problematic factors: insufficient financial literacy, undisciplined financial behavior, and inappropriate financial attitudes. The majority of participants were female (86.33%), aged around 20 years, with limited incomes (3,000–5,999 baht monthly) and high dependence on the Education Loan Fund (87.67%). The study identified financial knowledge, financial behavior, and financial attitudes as the core components for effective program design. Results emphasize the urgent need for structured, context-specific financial literacy curricula within teacher education programs, focusing on debt management, disciplined budgeting, and long-term financial planning. These findings provide a foundation for evidence-based interventions that can strengthen the financial capabilities for pre-service teachers.

Adopting a loanable funds model, this exploratory empirical study investigates the impact of economic freedom on the real interest rate yield on high-grade tax-exempt municipal bonds in the U.S. The AR/2SLS and FMOLS estimations imply that greater economic freedom leads to a lower ex post real interest rate yield on tax-exempt municipal bonds. Other interesting findings include the following: the real interest rate yield on tax-frees was an increasing function of both the ratio of the national debt to GDP and the ratio of the budget deficit to GDP while being a decreasing function of quantitative easing policies. Policy implications of these results include the need to limit the extent of the federal budget deficits in the U.S. lest there will be, among other things, significant limitations placed on the ability of towns, cities, counties, and states to finance outlays in response to changing demographic and economic circumstances and/or maintaining existing infrastructure.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the economic development of many countries, including Nigeria. However, one of the significant challenges faced by SMEs is access to adequate financing. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of different sources of financing on the financial performance of SMEs in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was employed for this study, and data were collected from 400 SME owners/managers using structured questionnaires. The research instrument was validated and found to be reliable. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Analysis of Variance - ANOVA). The findings of the study revealed that bank loan financing had a statistically significant effect on the financial performance of SMEs in Maiduguri Metropolis. Informal financing sources also had a statistically significant effect on SME financial performance, while retained earnings financing had a significant effect on financial performance. However, government fund financing did not show a significant effect on the financial performance of SMEs. Based on the findings, it was recommended that financial institutions should reconsider their interest rate policies and streamline loan application processes. Also, SME owners are advised to reinvest a portion of their profits for future growth rather than using all earnings for personal expenses.

The rising deployment of artificial intelligence in public services is constrained by computational costs and limited domain-specific data, particularly in multilingual contexts. This study proposes a generalizable Agentic AI pipeline for developing question–answer chatbot systems using small language models (SLMs), demonstrated through a case study on the Thai Student Loan Fund (TSLF). The pipeline integrates four stages: OCR-based document digitization using Typhoon2-3B, agentic question–answer dataset construction via a clean–check–plan–generate (CCPG) workflow, parameter-efficient fine-tuning with QLoRA on Typhoon2-1B and Typhoon2-3B models, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) for source-grounded responses. Evaluation using BERTScore and CondBERT confirmed high semantic consistency (FBERT = 0.9807) and stylistic reliability (FBERT = 0.9839) of the generated QA corpus. Fine-tuning improved the 1B model’s domain alignment (FBERT: 0.8593 → 0.8641), while RAG integration further enhanced factual grounding (FBERT = 0.8707) and citation transparency. Cross-validation with GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro demonstrated dataset transferability and reliability. The results establish that Agentic AI combined with SLMs offers a cost-effective, interpretable, and scalable framework for automating bilingual advisory services in resource-constrained government and educational institutions.

Purpose Corporate imitation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices may attract significant attention from commercial banks. While prior research has deepened the understanding of the determinants of corporate imitation of CSR practices, the relationship between corporate imitation of CSR practices and bank credit loans remains largely unexplored. This study aims to examine whether commercial banks take corporate imitation of CSR practices into account when structuring bank loan contracts. Design/methodology/approach This study utilizes social responsibility reports of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2022 and employs a text-based machine learning approach to quantify the extent of corporate imitation of CSR practices. Loan financing data is extracted from corporate loan announcements, and hypothesis testing is conducted using an ordinary least squares regression model. Findings This study finds that corporate imitation behaviors of CSR practices enhance the scale of bank credit loans by reducing banks' expectations of future operational risks and subsequent monitoring costs. Furthermore, these behaviors significantly increase the scale of long-term corporate loans and reduce the costs of borrowing. Notably, the influence of corporate imitation behaviors of CSR practices on bank loan decisions is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises, companies with high analyst coverage and heavily polluting industries. Specifically, these behaviors also substantially increase the scale of equity financing and trade credit financing. Additionally, results from the method of moments quantile regression indicate the varying capabilities of firms at different quantiles to secure bank loans due to their imitation behaviors of CSR practices. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on bank loan contracting and the economic consequences of corporate imitation of CSR practices by highlighting the impact of such imitation on bank loan financing volume from the perspective of bank loan contracting.

This study aimed to apply the economic values of Prophet Muhammad to strengthen community empowerment through the Islamic financial system. The program emphasized ethical financial literacy, interest-free microfinance, and the integration of Zakat and Sadaqah into productive use as a means to achieve social justice and sustainable development. A participatory action research approach was implemented in a Muslim rural community. Activities included workshops on Islamic economic ethics, the establishment of a Qard Hasan (interest-free loan) fund, and coordination of Zakat and Sadaqah distribution for small business support. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and focus group discussions with community members and leaders. Three main findings emerged. (1) Islamic financial literacy and ethical awareness significantly improved, leading to behavioral transformation in financial practices. (2) The Qard Hasan fund effectively supported local microenterprises and achieved a repayment rate above 90%, creating a sustainable cycle of empowerment. (3) The integration of charitable funds for productive purposes enhanced social solidarity, trust, and cooperation within the community. The findings reveal that the practical application of Prophetic economic values can bridge moral principles with real economic empowerment. However, challenges included limited institutional partnerships and short observation periods. These limitations suggest the need for broader implementation and longer-term evaluation. Implementing Islamic financial ethics through community-based mechanisms provides an effective framework for social transformation and inclusive development. Future research should explore long-term impacts, digital financial applications, and cross-community comparisons to strengthen the global relevance of Prophetic economic models.

Shortage of capital is one of the most critical problems that affect agricultural production. Primary data were obtained from field survey with the aid of organized interview schedule and multi-stage sampling procedure adopted to select 120 maize farmers. Data collected in the month of November 2023 were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The outcomes of the research findings revealed that the average age of the maize farmers was 50.38±12.688 years, majority (87.5%) were married with a mean household size of 6±2 persons. The average year of education was 5.57±5.509 years which is low. The mean acre under cultivation by the farmers was 9.65±7.23 acres. The findings of the study revealed that informal credit utilization is beneficial to the farmers as revealed by higher value of annual farm income (N154,183.33±18,756.46) after credit access that was more than annual farm income (N101,654.67±13,130.85) before access to informal credit. It is concluded from the study that the factors influencing utilization of informal credit by the farmers in the study area include age of farmers, household size, years of western education, length of years farming practices, and farm size. It is recommended that maize farmers should be encouraged to utilize informal credit as it serves as a catalyst in increase of farm income and imbibed in acreage expansion of their farm to assist in them accessing loan fund from non- informal sources.

When she accepted an unsalaried position as Assistant to the Professor of Nervous Diseases and Electrotherapeutics at the University of Michigan in 1892, Jeanne Cady Solis became possibly the first women to take a faculty position in any neurology department-but she had other important contributions to medicine and science. She encouraged and supported other women in research and academia, with leadership roles in the medical sorority Alpha Epsilon Iota and the Women's Research Club of the University of Michigan. For 7years, she offered a prize from her own funds for the best published research in medicine or science done during the year by a woman at the University of Michigan-won notably in 1926 by neuroanatomist Elizabeth Crosby. As president of the Women's Research Club, she created a loan funding program for women's research. These small efforts made meaningful differences in the careers of women in the early 1900s, allowing them to mentor and inspire generations of women.

ABSTRACT The paper examines the financial balances of the US economy. Government is the main borrower and households and the foreign sector the main lenders. Business net lending is minimal. The balances and their underlying transactions contradict the loanable funds theory and its “global savings glut” variation. Keynes's liquidity preference theory is correct but, in its original formulation, overlooked government and foreign sector flows. The internal finance of business investment aligns with Kalecki's profit equation. The foreign deficit, tied to the dollar's role as a reserve currency, reflects systemic global demand for dollar assets, as explained by Triffin and Minsky.

The higher education (HE) sector in Uganda is in a state of a perfect storm. As Uganda tends towards lower middle-income status and as it envisions upper middle-income status by 2040, it is beyond dispute that HE is a panacea to achieving this ambition. In order to bolster the signifcance of HE in the country’s socio-economic transformation process, higher education institutions (HEIs) in Uganda have attempted to embrace global imperatives within the broader HE discourse namely: internationalization of HE, international collaborations and knowledge transfer partnerships; revitalizing the relationship between the academic oligarchy, industry and the state; as well as strengthening the core function of HE: research, teaching and community engagement. However, an interplay of systemic defciencies, unclear institutional philosophies, and epistemological tensions have thwarted the full reformation of the country’s HE sector. By means of literature search and desk study, this paper sought to highlight the critical issues and challenges facing the country’s HE sector upon which the paper draws actionable recommendations. The article reveals that the capacity of HEIs to signifcantly contribute to the country’s development agenda is curtailed by geopolitical dynamics, autocratic rule, acute funding shortages and inadequacy of qualifed academic staff. The paper recommends that HEIs should reconstruct internationalization of HE, and explore new and reliable sources of funding. Also, the paper recommends that Government should create a special loan fund for fnancing doctoral studies and also scale up university funding for research and innovations.

The study advocates for the expansion of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund’s (NEL Fund) mandate to include the Students Work Aid Programme (SWAP), in order to accommodate more financially disadvantaged students who cannot access student loans. The primary objective of the study is to determine the availability of SWAP in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. In addition, it examines the impact of SWAP on the completion of undergraduate studies and the enhancement of post-graduation employment opportunities. The scope of the study covers tertiary institutions—universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education—in South Eastern Nigeria that are owned by the federal and state governments as well as private establishments. Using an exploratory mixed methods approach, data were collected from 104 respondents (staff and students) across 20 institutions that reflect this institutional mix. The findings reveal that: (i) SWAP is available in only a few institutions in South Eastern Nigeria; (ii) there is a need to introduce SWAP in all tertiary institutions where it is currently unavailable; (iii) SWAP has a positive effect on undergraduate study completion, as it improves completion rates and reduces dropout rates; (iv) SWAP provides opportunities for students to acquire workplace knowledge and skills; (v) awareness of SWAP among staff and students is relatively low; and (vi) SWAP should be made a mandatory programme in tertiary institutions in Nigeria to support financially disadvantaged students. The study makes policy recommendations for the development of a financial aid system that integrates SWAP into NEL Fund, and funded through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TET Fund).

ABSTRACT With the rapid economic growth and rising personal consumption demands in our country, bank loans have become a vital means for individuals and enterprises to meet funding needs. This study proposes a bank lending risk assessment system based on federated learning, aiming to reduce financial risks while safeguarding data privacy. The system adopts a horizontal federated learning framework that integrates the FedAug and XGBoost algorithms for performance optimization. Blockchain technology is incorporated to build a decentralized enterprise credit evaluation model, enabling collaborative training via smart contracts. To further strengthen privacy protection, differential privacy techniques are embedded into a PATE model within the horizontal federated learning framework, ensuring the security of both model parameters and local data. Experimental results show that, after optimizing computational resources and convergence speed, the system achieves an average AUC of 95.5%, marking an improvement of about 10% over traditional methods. Comparative analysis also reveals that the Fed‐XGB algorithm outperforms other models in convergence and stability, validating the system's effectiveness.

Abstract Background Photovoltaic (PV) systems are nowadays a central pillar in the expansion of renewable energy in Germany. Nevertheless, further significant growth in renewable energy will be needed in the future to meet the national emission reduction targets set by the German government. Homeowners play a crucial role in the expansion of PV capacity. In a discrete choice experiment, we empirically examine the impact of a large number of dimensions on homeowners’ PV adoption, including attributes that have received less attention in the literature so far, such as the included (smart energy) services, government subsidies, and forms of financing. Results Our results show that increasing levels of smart energy services for PV systems increase respondents’ valuation of smart energy services, while increasing the access rights of the contractual partner has a negative impact on the valuation. The latter negative effect is mitigated by an element of co-determination. Furthermore, our results point to the importance of government subsidies as a measure to increase PV adoption. Participants preferred one-time (or continuous) payments over continuous (or one-time) payments when government grants amounted to 40% (or 10%) of the investment cost; they were indifferent between both forms when subsidies amounted to 20% of the investment cost. Homeowners clearly preferred loan financing to self-financing only at an effective interest rate of 1.03%, as opposed to 3.53%. This result indicates a limited effectiveness of this subsidy measure, which is designed to overcome the problem of high investment costs from a conceptual point of view. Our results also show that homeowners are not so heterogeneous when it comes to the importance they attach to certain attributes related to PV adoption. Decisions were made independent of socio-demographic characteristics, but are related in some cases to the homeowners’ value orientations and risk inclination. Conclusions Homeowners are more likely to adopt smart energy services when they are involved in the typically automated processes through decision prompts. Financial factors are of pivotal role. There is a need to tailor financing strategies, as preferences for subsidy schemes vary with the level of financing. In addition, low-interest loans are ineffective in reducing the high upfront costs of PV deployment. Smart energy services have great potential, but there are also some caveats.

This socialization seminar of the Merah Putih Cooperative (KMP) was organized through a collaboration between KKN Impact students from Nipa village, Ambalawi sub-district, as the main activity of KKN Impact STIE Bima, the KKN Nipa Supervising Lecturers Team, and the Head of Nipa Village, Ambalawi sub-district, Bima Regency. The event took place in the Nipa village hall on Thursday, September 4, 2025. The implementation method consisted of 1) Preparation stage: coordination with the KKN Impact STIE Bima committee, coordination to request speakers from the Cooperative and MSME Office of Bima Regency, BPMdes Bima Regency, and speakers from STIE Bima Institution, and preparation of equipment and supplies. 2) Implementation stage: The community service resulted in the Merah Putih Cooperative seminar attended by administrators from six villages in Ambalawi sub-district, Bima Regency, held with active participation from speakers representing the Cooperative and MSME Office of Bima Regency, specifically the Head of the Savings and Loan Financing Facilities Division (FPSP) and BPMdes Bima Regency. Participants included the Ambalawi sub-district head's economic section representative, the Head of Nipa Village, the FPSP head and staff, BPMdes head and staff, Babinsa, Merah Putih cooperative managers from Ambalawi sub-district, village heads, BUMDes heads, community leaders, youth leaders, and MSME actors, totaling 32 attendees. The seminar focused on managing financing facilitation for cooperatives and MSMEs, developing cooperative institutions, supervising the savings and loan operations, and supporting village economic development through empowering cooperatives and MSMEs based on local potential. It aimed to enhance cooperative financial management capacity as an effort to strengthen institutions and optimize the cooperative's role in village economic development. Through this forum, participants were encouraged to understand the principles of transparency, accountability, and collaboration among stakeholders to realize cooperatives as inclusive, sustainable drivers of the local economy. The seminar also served as a strategic platform to support cooperative digitalization and boost cooperatives' role in promoting economic independence in village communities. 3) Evaluation stage: Group photo, reflection on activity results, and evaluation.

The main objective of this study is to identify major factors affecting rural land management performance in Walmara woreda, West Shoa zone of the Oromia regional state. The document also investigated the impact of land certification on farmers' perceived land tenure security and land management practices, particularly its advantages for economic empowerment and sense of ownership. To identify the main factors for land management performance and show direction for policymakers for land degradation that adversely affects the land management performance of the agricultural sector. The simple random sampling method was used to collect data from 377 respondents in Wolmera Woreda, in Berfeta Tokefa, and Nano Geneti Kebele. Both primary and secondary data were collected from different sources, including rural land administration and use at regional, zonal, district, and kebele levels as the primary source of our data, and other reports and publications were also used as secondary data sources. Primary data were collected using semi structured interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and office and field observation. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including mean, median, frequency, and bar charts. Findings from both focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews indicate that farmers’ land tenure security and access to financial loans improved following land certification. Moreover, land management practices such as tree planting and investment in organic fertilisers showed notable increases after farmers obtained land certification and access to credit. This highlights land certification as a key strategy for enhancing farmers’ land management. Consequently, both the federal government and regional states should prioritize issuing certified land titles for all rural lands to strengthen land management performance nationwide, with particular attention to Walmera woreda.

The high cost of tuition and other educational resources makes it difficult for students in Nigeria to access postsecondary education, placing a financial strain on both the students and their parents. Due to difficulties brought by the high cost of tuition, the Nigerian government established the Student Loan Program to assist students who are unable to pay for tuition and other educational expenses. Despite the Nigerian government’s efforts, the country’s student loan approval and uptake rates are still shockingly low, which raises a number of concerns about the factors compromising the loans’ ability to effectively address educational disparities. This study, grounded on the Human Capital Theory employs a binary logistics regression to model the loan approval rate for Nigerian students enrolled in higher institutions. Data utilized in this study was sourced from the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) online database. This study found that under graduates and students with high Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL) score were more likely to get a student’s loan request approved than graduated students with low CIBIL scores. The study also revealed that the students’ income per annum, loan amount and bank asset value had a positive and insignificant influence on students’ loan approval. Recommendation from the study’s findings was that NELFUND should take into account the knowledge gathered to improve their loan approval procedure by concentrating on the applicant’s credit score and modifying the educational status requirements to attain a more precise and equitable loan distribution.

This research is motivated by the limited access of the community to fair and interest-free financing, especially in Sukagalih Village. Many residents still depend on informal financial institutions like "Bank Emok", which impose high interest rates and exploitative practices, putting them at risk of falling into prolonged debt. This research aims to analyze the role of the Qardhul Hasan contract in improving the economic welfare of the community through a case study of the HERC Loan Program (Haji Endang Rusyana Center). This program is a social financing initiative sourced from personal funds, operated without interest or collateral, and based on mutual assistance principles and transaction blessings. Through a descriptive qualitative approach, this research involves five informants, consisting of program managers and beneficiaries. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, direct observations, and documentation. The research results show that the HERC Loan Program has a positive impact on increasing community income, developing micro-enterprises, and strengthening household economic resilience. A flexible repayment mechanism creates a sense of psychological security, while the usury's absence provides spiritual tranquility and fosters social responsibility and ethics of loan fund use. This program is capable of reducing the community's dependence on exploitative informal financial institutions. These findings indicate that financing based on the Qardhul Hasan contract can be an alternative solution in building a fair, inclusive economy for the community, in line with Islamic values. The HERC Loan Program has the potential to be replicated in other communities as a tangible manifestation of the Sharia finance-oriented application toward blessings and social welfare.