Microfinance is an effective mechanism through which the underprivileged households have access to diverse credit services so as to guard themselves against financial insecurity in the future. These financial services are not restricted to lending credits, rather it comprises other services such as micro insurance, micro leasing, provision for thrift savings, etc. In other words, microfinance is a matching set of formal financial instruments that are specifically designed to fulfil the needs of the poor individuals by taking into consideration their low level of education and knowledge related to financial activities. The introduction of microfinance program has led to the improvement of the credit lending options for the rural poor households, and it is believed to work as an effective weapon to lessen poverty and improve the living standards of the poor. Hence, it is considered as the most distinct instrument for uplifting the poor individuals and mitigating poverty. FullArticle...

In Bangladesh, entrepreneurship development is especially significant for its intrinsic role of creating new employment opportunities, income generation and ultimately poverty reduction. This study aims to identify the factors that influence an individual to be an entrepreneur. The underlying factors are categorized as push associated with some negative forces and pull linked with some positive forces. Primary data was collected from 57 respondents from among the individuals engaged in various entrepreneurial activities. The ownership style, nature of enterprise, experience, educational qualification, and push and pull factors of the sample enterprises were considered as the main sources of primary data. The data analysis has been performed in two ways: Average response of the respondent on a statement and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using STATA tool. Based on a comparison between the outcome of "Average response of the respondent on a statement" and "PCA of the responses", "Curse of unemployment" has been identified as the push factor that compelled the respondents to become an entrepreneur. On the other hand, "Strong willpower to do something on own","Self-employment and economic freedom","Use of personal knowledge and previous experience" and "Career advancement" have been found to be the leading pull factors that encourage respondents to become entrepreneurs. FullArticle...

Established in 2014, Avani Eco was spearheaded by Kevin Kumala (Kumala), an Indonesian social entrepreneur. Kumala's concern for plastic pollution and its increasing negative impact on the country drove him to look for a solution. He came up with a groundbreaking innovation with a root vegetable, cassava, to combat the plastic pollution. Avani manufactured a compostable bioplastic made from cassava starch, and also made a full range of sustainable food packaging and hospitality products from renewable resources. Its bioplastic bags gained special attention as the company claimed that the bags dissolved in water and were safe for aquatic animals and even humans. However, Avani Eco faced certain challenges. As the company did not focus much on marketing its products, not many were aware of its existence. Lack of awareness about the product made it tough for Avani to limit and replace the use of traditional plastic. Also, bioplastic was more expensive than conventional plastic, so the cost of Avani bags was higher than that of the usual plastic bags. The company was also struggling to scale up due to lack of funding. The case highlights Indonesia's fight against plastic, the journey of Avani Eco, its products, and the company's future plans to compete with traditional plastic and emerge as a 'green' replacement. FullArticle...