Volume 20 Issue 2, August 2025

 

ARTICLE INFO
Article History:
Received: 8 May 2025
Accepted: 30 July 2025
Available online: 1 August 2025

ASIA-PACIFIC MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING JOURNAL. VOL. 20 ISSUE 2

ASSESSING INTERNAL PROCESSES OF A COMMUNITY-BASED MICROFINANCE MODEL TO ALLEVIATE EXTREME POVERTY IN SOCIETY

Mohammad Khalequzzaman1 , Asmak Ab Rahman1♣ and Amirrudin Kamsin2

1Department of Shariah and Economics,
University Malaya, Malaysia
2Department of Computer System and Technology,
University Malaya, Malaysia

 

ABSTRACT

The Sharīʿah-based and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven Microfinance Model (SIMM) represents a community-oriented initiative designed to combat severe poverty within society. A notable limitation of existing microfinance institutions (MFIs) is their inability to incorporate extremely impoverished individuals into their client base. This longitudinal study employs a quantitative methodology to assess the internal processes of SIMM through a pilot study involving 421 rural households in Kalainagar village, Bangladesh. The evaluation of SIMM's internal processes is grounded in five critical factors: microfinance model (MFM), ICT utilization, investment values (IV), entrepreneurial values (EV), and business values (BV). To explore the interrelationships among these factors, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed. The findings reveal significant and positive relationships among the constructs. Additionally, a robustness test was conducted to further substantiate the internal processes of SIMM. As a community-based microfinance model, SIMM exhibits substantial potential for alleviating extreme poverty in rural communities.

Keywords: Microfinance Model, Performance Evaluation, Poverty Alleviation, Longitudinal Study

Corresponding Author: Asmak Ab Rahman; Department of Shariah and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia; Email: asmak@um.edu.my; Tel: +603-7967 6042