Sylvester Kyei‐Gyamfi, Prince Boamah Abrah, Frank Kyei‐Arthur
ABSTRACT This study examines how Ghana's decentralized governance system shapes public social welfare service delivery, with a specific focus on the Department of Social Welfare (DSW). In Ghana, decentralization involves the transfer of administrative and fiscal responsibilities for social services from the central government to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies, within which the DSW operates. Using a qualitative case‐study design, the study purposively sampled 30 national and regional DSW officers (60% male, 40% female). Data were collected through in‐depth interviews and analyzed thematically. The findings reveal three interrelated challenges: role conflicts arising from dual reporting lines, human resource gaps that undermine effective service delivery, and persistent funding and logistical constraints. In response, officers adopted coping strategies such as informal inter‐agency collaboration, role multitasking, and internal financing mechanisms. Participants proposed reforms including clarifying institutional mandates, professionalizing social welfare practice, securing sustainable budgetary allocations, and introducing digital monitoring systems to enhance accountability. Overall, the study underscores the need for structural reforms to strengthen decentralized social welfare service delivery in Ghana.
Shahinaz Hanem Abdellatif, Marwan Kobtan, Mostafa Zeinelabdein, Ramina Pashaee
The study examines the role of development finance theory, stakeholders’ theory, creating shared value (CSV), and the triple bottom line (TBL) framework to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most studies focus on sustainable Business Models (SBMs) from the perspective of developed countries and often overlook the interdisciplinary nature and peculiarities of emerging economies, in terms of technology opportunities, financing constraints, and governance challenges, in the Global South. This study proposes a multi-layered framework to advance economic sustainability in emerging economies by integrating blended green finance, public-private partnerships (PPP), and fintech-enabled SBMs. The multi-layered framework redefines traditional PPP as a collaborative delivery and governance mechanism involving public, private, and development multilateral organizations to implement Economic, Social, Governance (ESG), and climate-aligned infrastructure. It also reshapes the role of blended finance strategies and emphasizes the often-overlooked role of non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs); particularly leasing companies, small and microfinance institutions, alongside banks in enabling inclusive green finance, and incorporates financial technology (FinTech) innovations, including decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchain, and digital crowdfunding, to improve access to capital, and financial inclusion. Tailored to the context of MENA economies, like Egypt's Vision 2030, the framework offers policy insights and a smooth transition toward sustainable development. Keywords: Economic Sustainability, Green Finance, Blended Finance, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), Fintech-Enabled Sustainable Business Models, Economic, Social, Governance (ESG), Egypt Vision 2030
This article considers the potential of decentralized finance (DeFi) to disrupt global financial stability, highlighting its evolving vulnerabilities and emerging systemic risks. While DeFi has yet to trigger a financial crisis, its rapid growth, increasing complexity, and expanding interconnections with traditional finance (TradFi) suggest that it could become a channel for financial instability under stress conditions. While DeFi inherits certain vulnerabilities of TradFi, its reliance on decentralized governance, algorithmic execution, and volatile collateral arrangements generates distinct risk dynamics. The article places a critical emphasis on stablecoins, whose structural fragilities and liquidity mismatches may amplify contagion effects in times of market stress. The article also examines the limitations of built-in risk mitigation mechanisms, such as overcollateralization and automated liquidation, which, in the absence of legal safeguards or supervisory oversight, may not be sufficient to prevent market-wide disruptions. To mitigate the threat that DeFi may pose to financial stability, this article identifies two regulatory priorities: enhancing monitoring and supervision of DeFi’s evolution and fostering international cooperation to mitigate transmission risks inherent in the DeFi ecosystem.
Abstract Food security and the stakeholders’ trust are essential to ensure that agricultural supply chains are transparent and secure. This research presents a Queueing-Assisted Blockchain Smart Contract (QABSC) framework to enhance end-to-end traceability in the millet supply chain. The framework incorporates fog computing into real-time data processing to reduce latency and optimizes transaction flow using queueing techniques, thereby ensuring an efficient and scalable blockchain supply chain platform. The Internet of Vehicles and Things (IoVT) connects cars, sensors, roadside infrastructure, and cloud and edge technologies to make transportation and mobility smarter. By integrating fog-layer intelligence with blockchain-based immutable record-keeping, Internet of Vehicles and Things enabled sensing and vehicular logistics, and end-to-end visibility, the proposed system may ensure tamper-resistant monitoring of millet products from farms to customers. Internet of Things (IoT) sensors collect real-time information about millet quality and storage conditions. This data is securely stored using the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and verified by smart contracts on a distributed ledger. This approach ensures automated compliance verification for auditors and regulators, immutable data storage, and conditional privacy. The proposed model reduces bottlenecks in blockchain transaction processing and enhances efficiency, privacy, data integrity, and trust among producers, distributors, retailers, farmers, and buyers. The proposed model is evaluated based on key performance metrics. The experimental evaluations of the proposed framework demonstrate enhanced throughput, improved transparency, reduced computational overhead, and robust security. This research focuses on a unique integration of smart contracts, queueing theory, IPFS, Fog Computing, IoT devices, and blockchain technology to promote sustainable and transparent millet supply chain management.