Wenxing Wang, Jeroen van Wijngaarden, Martina BuljacâSamardĹžiÄ, Joris van de Klundert
Many Global Health initiatives aim to disseminate best practices to developing countries to improve access and quality of care. However, current concepts of successful innovation are primarily based on studies conducted in developed, Western countries. Little is known about the structural factors influencing the uptake of these innovations in non-Western developing countries. This gap motivated our study on the introduction of âbest international practices in health service deliveryâ in China. We conducted semi-structured online interviews with 20 participants, consisting of 10 Chinese, 9 Dutch, and 1 German, to advance scientific understanding of this topic. Four themes of structural factors that influence the adoption and adaption of health service delivery innovations originating from abroad in China emerged. These four themes include: Alignment with governmental policies and regulations, Leadership engagement on multiple levels, Alignment between internal stakeholders, and Matching incentives with both organizational and personal interests. While adoption is always top-down, adaption often follows a bottom-up approach in the Chinese context. Resource scarcity in primary care institutions adds extra difficulties to bottom-up innovations. Health professionalsâ motivations to adopt and adapt foreign innovations are primarily controlled (externally) instead of autonomous (internally), which can diminish sustainability. Reducing workload and increasing salaries can facilitate resolving motivation challenges. Our findings indicate that differences exist in the adoption and adaptation of foreign innovations in developing countries with tight government control and a centralized health system such as China, compared to developed countries with decentralized health systems.
Increasing environmental harm, social inequalities and economic insecurity have rendered the youth involvement in impact investment essential to sustainable development. The chapter reviews the motivators of youth-led impact investment, a financial investment approach that incorporates financial returns with quantifiable social and environmental good. It sheds light on the impact of Environmental, Social and Governance values among Millennials and Generation Z whose investment priorities are based on ethics, accountability and long-term welfare of the society. Decentralized finance and digital micro-investment platforms have opened up capital markets to more people regardless of income or location. Gen Z is transforming the creation of wealth by creating transparent, inclusive and purposeful financial systems. Nevertheless, the challenge of insufficient financial literacy, access to capital and institutional backing continues to exist, especially in the Global South. The chapter supports the idea of inclusive financial systems to make the youth more empowered and promote intergenerational justice and sustainability.
This chapter explores how youth-led Fintech is reshaping pathways to planetary sustainability by combining digital innovation with regenerative economic principles. It examines the theoretical foundations linking Fintech, environmental goals, and youth agency, highlighting how mobile banking, blockchain-based transparency, and AI-driven analytics mobilise green finance and expand inclusion. Drawing on global case studies across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, the chapter demonstrates how young innovators use digital tools to advance clean energy access, carbon accountability, ethical consumption, and circular-economy financing. It also discusses challenges including digital divides, regulatory gaps, greenwashing, and data risks and offers policy directions to strengthen youth-inclusive, accountable, and scalable sustainable Fintech ecosystems.
ABSTRACT This study critically examines how financial technology (fintech) may facilitate digital and financial inclusion for ethnic minority and Indigenous women engaged in environmentally oriented livelihood and enterprise practices within historically marginalized communities. The study adopts a contextâsensitive and intersectional perspective, recognizing that digital inclusion and entrepreneurship are culturally embedded rather than universally transferable models of development. Using a conceptual review approach guided by the PRISMA framework, 43 studies published between 2019 and 2025 were systematically analyzed to explore how fintech tools such as mobile money, crowdfunding, peerâtoâpeer lending, and blockchainâenabled systems interact with local socioâeconomic realities, community trust structures, and production systems that demonstrate environmental or sustainabilityârelated objectives in particular local settings. The findings suggest that fintech can support expanded economic participation and market access and facilitate environmentally oriented enterprise development where such an orientation is locally demonstrated, provided that digital financial systems are adapted to local cultural contexts, institutional conditions, and communityâbased practices. Meaningful inclusion depends on culturally grounded forms of digital engagement, participatory governance, and the interpretive translation of entrepreneurial and financial systems. The study contributes to sustainable development scholarship by integrating perspectives from inclusive development, intersectionality, digital inclusion, and decolonial approaches to entrepreneurship and finance. Policy implications emphasize the need for genderâresponsive, culturally situated, and communityâembedded fintech ecosystems. The review further emphasizes that successful fintech interventions require not only technological accessibility but also broader processes of âworldview translationâ through which digital financial systems become socially intelligible and culturally legitimate within local community contexts.
This study explores the impact of digital payment adoption and blockchain-based supply chains on the integration of street vendors from Delhi-NCR into global e-commerce. The goal is to examine the potential of digital technologies in supporting business transition and socioeconomic improvement for informal-sector vendors. A mixed-method research design was employed, involving purposive sampling of 250 street vendors engaged in digital payment ecosystems. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine hypothesized relationships between digital adoption, business transition, and socioeconomic outcomes. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) addressed multicollinearity, and non-linear predictive relationships were analysed using Random Forest modelling. The findings reveal that digital adoption has a significant impact on business transition ( β = 0.64, p < 0.001), which, in turn, has a strong impact on socioeconomic upliftment ( β = 0.58, p < 0.001). Digital adoption also has a direct impact on socioeconomic outcomes that is positive but smaller ( β = 0.21, p = 0.033), suggesting partial mediation. Measurement reliability, validity, and predictive relevance were confirmed through structural model assessments. Digital payments have a limited direct impact on international trade, although they enable vendor inclusion and business transformation. By contrast, blockchain-based supply chain factors greatly enhance the efficiency of logistics, transparency, and supply chain-related performance. The study finds no direct income effects of digital technologies; instead, empowerment operates through entrepreneurial transition. The findings illustrate the need to go beyond financial inclusion and technological infrastructure to ensure the dynamic participation of the informal sector in global markets.
George Nana Agyekum Donkor, John Kwaku Darko Okrah, Dimy Doresca
This chapter discusses the overview of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development, conventional approaches to financing SMEs, challenges of SME financing, and the changing landscape of SME financing in Africa. SMEs generate about 90 per cent of economic activity in Africa, but their structure and informality exclude them from formal value chains, markets, and access to bank credit. They benefit from conventional finance like government credit programmes and factoring that complement formal finance like commercial bank credit, microfinance, venture capital (VC), and specialised stock markets. However, persistent challenges limit funding for small businesses because of structural and institutional barriers, information asymmetry and transparency gaps, low managerial capacity, high transaction and screening costs, and the government crowding-out effect. Innovative models like digital finance, impact investing, fintech, crowdfunding, cryptocurrency, blended finance, supply-chain finance (SCF), and development finance institutions (DFIs) are also helping SMEs bypass credit market shortfalls to access capital. This chapter provides relevant recommendations for governments, policymakers, and key stakeholders.
Medical tourism, often branded as health tourism, involves people traveling beyond regional limits to get advanced healthcare treatments, which is generally determined based on medical payments, availability of specialized treatment, in addition to obtainability of innovative technical support. The implementation of digital advancements such as telemedicine, health informatics, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain technology has resulted in a dramatic shift in the health sector. The technological innovations are transforming healthcare delivery, thereby encouraging rural women entrepreneurs to play a significant part in a nationâs health service milieu. To improve service delivery and outreach, women entrepreneurs are using digital platforms such as AI-based diagnostic tools, blockchain for data confidentiality and authenticity, and e-marketing technologies. The study focuses on how women-led businesses are establishing themselves as important facilitators, filling the disparity between overseas clients and healthcare professionals. The observations evaluate the socioeconomic implications of digital adoption, specifically in terms of employment generation, incorporating gender equality, and improved health care accessibility in less developed rural areas, using a blended research approach that combines descriptive and empirical study observations and findings. The most significant challenges and potential advantages confronting rural women in this growing industry are thoroughly investigated, and practical solutions for promoting the sustainability and scalability of such firms are identified. The chapter also highlights rural women entrepreneursâ contributions to improving Indiaâs more equitable, technologically equipped, and globally successful health care travel environment.
As of 2024, 730 million people worldwide lacked electricity access, roughly eight in ten of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Closing this gap requires engineering approaches suited to the technical, financial, and institutional constraints of low-resource settings, not conventional grid extension alone. This paper reviews four engineering pathways expanding renewable energy access in developing countries â decentralized mini-grids, IoT-enabled pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar financing, frugal engineering, and AI-assisted smart-grid digitalization â using case evidence from Kenya, India, and East Africa's PAYG sector.
This article aims to examine how the metaverse is reshaping business and management by providing a review of existing literature, identifying critical research gaps, and proposing a novel conceptual frameworkâthe Metaverse Ecosystem Modelâthat integrates technological, human, and sustainability dimensions with strategic business outcomes in the Web3 era. The article will embrace a conceptual knowledge and literature review that articulates conceptual underpinnings, marketing and consumer behaviour, sectoral uses, and sustainability/workforce/boundaryless futures. This was synthesised directly into the creation of the Metaverse Ecosystem Model that connects three pillars (technological infrastructure, workforce skills, and energy and sustainability) to the business opportunities, challenges, and quantifiable results. The review shows that, although the metaverse can be used to conduct immersive marketing, operational efficiency via digital twins, sustainable industrial use, and inclusive development in emerging economies, the studies are disjointed and siloed. Among the critical areas of gaps, there are the lack of integrated frameworks between the foundational enablers and outcomes and the scarcity of empirical focus on long-term sustainability and workforce readiness. The suggested Metaverse Ecosystem Model fills these gaps by showing causal relationships between the three pillars via opportunities and constraints to innovation, new business models, and high customer engagement. It represents the first comprehensive framework of the ecosystem, specific to business and management, which provides managers and policymakers with a useful roadmap to responsible adoption.
Indiaâs aspiration to emerge as a developed nation by 2047 under the vision of Viksit Bharat necessitates the identification and scaling of localized innovations. Odisha, characterized by its socio-cultural diversity and rapid technological transition, presents a compelling case as a living laboratory for future-ready developmental models. This study positions Odisha at the intersection of three transformative domains: algorithmic welfare systems, governance challenges arising from silent urbanization, and the digitization of cultural heritage through Web3 technologies such as NFTs. By integrating quantitative modeling, qualitative fieldwork, and policy analysis, the study proposes a framework for culturally rooted, inclusive, and decentralized development. The findings suggest that Odishaâs experiments in adaptive welfare delivery, the recognition of hybrid urban spaces, and digital cultural economies not only address local challenges but also offer scalable insights for national policy. The state thus emerges as a microcosm of a technologically empowered, socially equitable, and culturally vibrant Viksit Bharat.
Moses Arthur Baidoo, Wang ZhiCheng, Liu Qi, Zhou ShuMin ¡ 6 authors
Access to reliable electricity remains a pressing challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rural areas where over 600 million people live without power. This paper explores the potential of decentralized solar energy systems; such as solar home systems, mini-grids, and solar-powered appliances in addressing energy access challenges across rural Sub-Saharan Africa. While these systems offer clean, reliable, and scalable alternatives to conventional grid expansion, their adoption is constrained by regulatory uncertainty, limited financing options, and local capacity gaps. Drawing on case studies from five countries, the paper examines how recent innovations -including mobile-based Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing, hybrid renewable systems, and improved energy storage technologies are reshaping energy access models. It also outlines policy recommendations aimed at strengthening regulatory coherence, promoting regional cooperation, and enhancing sustainability. Ultimately, the study highlights how decentralized solar solutions can contribute to long-term environmental, financial, and social resilience, with direct implications for poverty alleviation and inclusive rural development in the region.
Sunil Kumar R M, Raghavendra M Devadas, Mrutyunjaya M S, Praveen Gujjar J ¡ 6 authors
Healthcare data infrastructures remain fragmented, insecure, and characterized by low trust, hindering interoperable, patient-centric care. Centralized architectures struggle with multi-stakeholder governance, fine-grained accountability, and performance at scale under real-world workloads. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) promises immutability, distributed trust, auditability, and strong provenance, yet most healthcare implementations focus on narrow use cases, ad-hoc governance choices, or limited performance benchmarking. This paper designs and empirically evaluates an integrated governance architecture and performance engineering framework for healthcare DLT ecosystems. The approach combines (i) a theoretical synthesis of DLT governance and health data governance, (ii) architecture and protocol design for permissioned and hybrid platforms (e.g., Corda, Hyperledger Fabric, Ethereum-based frameworks, edgeâblockchain hybrids), and (iii) testbed implementations with multi-scenario benchmarking across local, cloud, and edge-integrated deployments. Results from representative use casesâEHR interoperability, m-health/IoT streaming, and self-sovereign identity and consentâshow that DLT-enabled governance can strengthen integrity, accountability, and patient control while achieving acceptable throughputâlatency envelopes compared with centralized baselines, subject to explicit trade-offs between decentralization, audit granularity, and scalability. The paper distils design guidelines and reusable governanceâperformance patterns for large-scale, interoperable DLT health ecosystems, clarifying when to Favor platform choices, consensus mechanisms, and data-management strategies given domain-specific requirements.
Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
Energy poverty remains a critical barrier to socioeconomic development in rural Africa, where millions lack access to reliable electricity. This study explores the state of rural electrification, the consequences of dependence on traditional energy sources, and the potential of solar energy as a viable solution. Using a qualitative secondary research methodology, the study synthesizes data from scholarly articles, institutional reports, and case studies across various African nations, including Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Findings reveal that decentralized solar solutions, such as mini-grids and standalone solar home systems, offer scalable and cost effective alternatives to grid expansion. However, challenges such. Ydf as high upfront costs, weak regulatory frameworks, and limited financing mechanisms hinder widespread adoption. Innovative financing models, including pay-as-you-go (PAYG) schemes and microcredit financing, have demonstrated success in increasing energy affordability, while public-private partnerships (PPPs) have facilitated large-scale solar electrification projects. The study concludes that achieving universal energy access in rural Africa requires strengthened institutional support, policy harmonization, and increased investment in decentralized renewable energy solutions. Policy recommendations include government-led subsidy programs, tax incentives for solar enterprises, and enhanced regulatory frameworks to encourage private sector participation. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on sustainable energy transitions by providing policy insights and strategic recommendations for accelerating rural electrification efforts in Africa.
India holds a crucial place in the worldwide leadership of sustainable development since it is the largest democracy in the world and has one of the nations with the greatest economic growth. With innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability at its core, Viksit Bharat @2047 symbolizes India's ambition to become a fully developed country by the century of its independence. Emerging technologies are increasing productivity, boosting global competitiveness, and spurring innovation in various industries. By providing tailored financial assistance & investment suggestions, artificial intelligence-powered chatbots & robo-advisors are democratizing the provision of financial planning services. Decentralized finance (DeFi) systems and other blockchain-based solutions are simplifying trade finance procedures, lowering operating costs, and facilitating safe and transparent cross-border transactions. This chapter examines how innovation and technology are essential to achieving this lofty goal. It provides a thorough examination of India's contemporary digital infrastructure, the country's ascent in international innovation rankings, & the use of cutting-edge technologies including biotechnology, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and space research. The story highlights government programs such as Start-up India, Digital India, and the National AI & Green Hydrogen Missions. Furthermore, the story underscores the importance of inclusive growth, which encompasses youth empowerment, women-led innovation, and rural digitization. Alongside strategic advice, issues like cybersecurity concerns, low investment in research and growth, and the digital divide are also discussed. India is positioned to emerge as a worldwide leader in technology, not simply a consumer, by cultivating a strong innovation ecosystem and utilizing partnerships between university, industry, and the private sector. This chapter provides a comprehensive plan for a tech-powered, inclusive, and sustainable Viksit Bharat before 2047. Higher education is one of the areas that must use developing technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), to achieve Viksit Bharat 2047 (the Developed India 2047). Outside of higher education, artificial intelligence influences technology and economic progress. Young minds will realize this transformative vision as soon as they actively interact with AI. AI literacy empowers students in higher education to investigate, produce, and innovate. Students may do research, find solutions to real-world issues, and alter the course of history as they learn AI.
Open access
Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
Innovations and Analysis in Business and Education
Abstract Green entrepreneurship has emerged as a key driver of sustainable market transformation, linking innovation, environmental stewardship, and social equity. Green entrepreneurship plays a vital role in enabling low-carbon growth by introducing innovative solutions that mitigate environmental impact while generating socio-economic value. The emergence of carbon markets provides a new economic mechanism to reward emission reduction activities, thereby creating sustainable market opportunities. This research explores how carbon finance mechanisms, including carbon credits, offset projects, and nature-based solutions, can support the growth of green enterprises. The study examines the potential of decentralized community-led green entrepreneurship models like coir and bamboo to participate in carbon markets and contribute to sustainable market ecosystems using digital tools and online platforms. It aims to explore how rural fibre-based industries can leverage carbon finance mechanisms to achieve environmental sustainability while enhancing rural livelihoods. By investigating the research intersection of low-carbon innovation, community enterprise, and carbon monetization, this research positions Online Green Entrepreneurship as a transformative pathway for building in Sustainable Markets Ecosystem. Keywords: Green Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Markets, Digital Tools, Online Platforms, Low-Carbon Innovation, Carbon Markets, Carbon Finance, Rural Livelihoods, Community Enterprise, Socio-Economic Value, Ecosystem.
Entrepreneurship, innovation, and startup ecosystems have become central components of national development strategies, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where youth unemployment, income inequality, and limited formal employment opportunities remain persistent structural challenges. This paper presents a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2025 to examine how these interconnected elements contribute to Kenyaâs socioeconomic development. Guided by the entrepreneurial passion theory and the risk-bearing theory of entrepreneurship, the review synthesizes both empirical and conceptual evidence across four thematic areas: job creation and poverty reduction; financing constraints and governance weaknesses; the role and reach of innovation hubs; and human capital and skills development. The findings indicate that entrepreneurship plays a significant role in employment generation, income creation, and technological progress in Kenya. Small and medium enterprises continue to absorb a substantial share of the labour force, particularly among youth. However, the study finds that the sectorâs overall contribution to national development is limited by restricted access to affordable finance, inconsistent policy implementation, weak institutional coordination, and notable skill gaps among enterprise founders. These structural challenges reduce business survival rates and limit long-term growth. The review further finds that innovation hubs, including Nairobiâs iHub and university-based incubation centres, have created valuable support structures through mentorship, networking, and access to digital infrastructure. Despite these gains, their impact remains geographically concentrated and does not adequately address the needs of entrepreneurs operating outside major urban centres. Moreover, many programs do not sufficiently respond to practical business management and financing challenges faced by early-stage enterprises. The paper concludes that achieving Kenyaâs Vision 2030 development objectives requires a coordinated and sustained strategy. The study therefore recommended that the government should strengthen entrepreneurship education, expand access to blended financing, decentralize innovation infrastructure, and improve institutional coordination to promote sustainable enterprise development in Kenya
Abu Talha Haque Miah, Miss Al Ive, Roby Mohajon, Zahroul Haque Miah
Dependability of electricity continues to present challenges in remote and displacement-affected areas of Bangladesh (Coxâs Bazaar) in a humanitarian context. This paper presents a field-based model for decentralized solar energy deployment using a third-party financing mechanism, implemented in Camp 7 by Ulterior Engineering under CODEC in partnership with UNHCR. A 3.5 kW hybrid off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) system was installed to power essential community services and operationalized within fourteen days. The pilot combined technical and institutional innovations, including a profit-sharing investment model, accelerated implementation, shared-risk contractual agreements, and realtime performance monitoring. The system architecture included Jinko 580 W modules, a 4 kW inverter, and LiFePO4battery storage at the Tulips facility, while the Sunflower facility used 250 W Fortune Solar modules. The results revealed that more than 75% of the daily consumption was covered by solar energy, largely diminishing diesel fuel consumption. Financial viability was ensured with an internal rate of return at 15%, a payback period at 5.9 years, and emissions avoidance of 77 t CO2over 20 years. The system had yielded a competitive levelized cost of energy at USD $0.034 / \mathrm{kWh}$, complementing its economic sustainability with a high IRR value of 15%. Indeed, this model sets a replicable framework for private investment in humanitarian energy access both within off-grid and resourceconstrained environments.
The global transition to sustainable energy is critical for achieving development goals and addressing climate change. Beyond technology, economic paradigm shifts are now seen as essential to reshaping power markets and accelerating this transition. This paper explores key economic transformations driving the shift, focusing on innovative financial mechanism such as green bonds, blended finance and de-risking tools that mobilize capital for clean energy. It also examines the role of carbon pricing instruments like Emissions Trading Systems in incentivizing decarbonization and the rise of decentralized business models, including Virtual Power Plants and Energy-asa-Service and their implications for market structures and revenue streams. Drawing from international case studies and a review of current literature, the study identifies effective policy frameworks and financing strategies. Applying these insights to Vietnamâs energy context, it offers targeted recommendations to attract investment, reform power market design and strengthen the green finance ecosystem. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the economic levers vital for enabling a sustainable, inclusive and resilient power sector aligned with Vietnamâs net-zero goals.
Mario Fernando Herrera Venegas, MartĂn Wilson Lozano Rivera, Johanna Yadira Zambrano SolĂłrzano
This study develops and empirically validates a budget reform model aimed at enhancing the national transplant system in Ecuador. Employing an applied, cross-sectional quantitative design, data were collected from 109 employees of the National Institute of Donation and Transplantation of Organs, Tissues, and Cells (INDOT) through validated instruments assessing budgetary reform dimensions and transplant activity. Ordinal logistic regression and model-fit tests confirmed a statistically significant relationship (Ď², Wald; p<0.05), with a pseudo-R² (Nagelkerke â0.997). Results reveal that public underfunding, limited earmarked revenues, and rigid execution rules critically restrict the efficiency and sustainability of transplant programs. Descriptive findings also identified advisory, substantive, and decentralized management processes as institutional bottlenecks. Building on these results, the paper proposes a legislative framework to establish a public trust fund, fed by service fees and fiscal transfers, ensuring transparent, predictable, and decentralized financing for transplantation. The proposed model provides a replicable policy instrument for countries facing fiscal constraints, offering practical strategies to strengthen governance, financial sustainability, and access to organ transplantation services.