Iqra University

The rapid rise of fintech, driven primarily through technological innovation, has changed finance (Financial Services) through increased efficiency, new products, and more access to finance. The success of fintech is greatly affected by the quality of their entrepreneurial ecosystem (entrepreneurial culture, access to finance, human capital, market conditions, regulations, support services). The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of these six key components on the success of fintech startups. The study takes an Ecosystem Approach to build a model that explains how these components affect fintech startup success based on data collected from fintech professionals and ecosystem participants via surveys and interviews. The model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The analysis showed that all six components had a statistically significant and positive effect on the success of fintech startups. The regulatory component, followed by access to finance, showed the greatest positive effect on success. This study builds on prior literature and adds to the growing body of research within the fintech ecosystems by presenting new empirical evidence from an emerging economy, as well as having practical policy implications for developing more successful fintech ecosystems. The findings offer valuable recommendations for policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs pursuing to promote sustainable fintech development and startup success.

ABSTRACT Indeed, inclusive wealth is crucial for any country to achieve the sustainability of its economic development by considering human capital. For this, the current paper intends to explore how renewable energy consumption and economic growth impact and interact with each other under the inclusive wealth approach. By integrating physical, human, and natural capital, we provide a comprehensive analysis of how energy use influences sustainable development. The study utilized the data from 118 countries ranging from 1990 to 2018. For accomplishment of the study objectives, the novel methodology of Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) has been used. Additionally, we develop projections for the years 2019 to 2050 and analyze the future relationship between inclusive wealth and sustainable development. The findings of the threshold regression approach indicate that the nexus between renewable energy consumption and inclusive wealth is positive up to a certain threshold (4.33%); however, beyond this threshold and in higher regimes of inclusive wealth, the relationship remains positive and becomes stronger. The projection analysis until 2050 highlights the necessity for progressive resilience strategies in response to the evolving relationship between inclusive wealth and sustainable development. This study underscores the need for policymakers to prioritize the integration of renewable energy in inclusive wealth frameworks, aiding in the effective achievement of sustainable development goals.

Parents are the first people with whom the child connects with. It is indeed a blessing in disguise. Children learn a lot of things from their parents like building trust, love, care, attention, support, and creating a sense of identity. So, losing a parent in itself a complex emotional experience. This study primarily focuses on those individuals who lost one or both of their parents in a very early age. The objective of this study was to explore the psychological well-being of the child after the loss of his parents. This study is qualitative in nature and research design was the interview guide. The total of 12 participants were recruited: 6 females and 6 males from Karachi, Pakistan. The results showed that there’s milder psychological problems in participants such as anxiety, stress, low self- perception, low self-esteem, future uncertainty, and more. The study clearly concluded that the ones who have faced the loss of their parents will have adverse impact on their psychological well-being. This study further recommended that surviving parents should be psychoeducated on children’s grief responses, early psychological screening can be done for the children to check the emotional and behavioral difficulties at an early age, and school teachers and counselors to be vigilant enough to recognize the signs of grief, emotional withdrawal, and behavioral issues.

Power distribution systems face increasing threats from high-impact, low-probability (HILP) events caused by extreme weather conditions such as floods, typhoons, droughts, and heatwaves. These events often lead to power outages worldwide, highlighting the need for effective strategies to mitigate their impact. This work proposes an emergency response strategy that integrates network reconfiguration (NR) with the deployment of mobile emergency generators (MEGs) to enhance system resilience. The objective is to maximize power supply availability following HILP events. To achieve this, mixed-integer quadratic constraint programming (MIQCP) is used to optimize MEG deployment and network restoration. Additionally, improved quantitative resilience metrics are introduced to assess system degradation, pre-recovery, and recovery phases, enabling continuous resilience measurement and informed decision-making. Furthermore, an optimal capacity deployment strategy (OCDS) is proposed to ensure that MEGs are deployed with suitable capacities based on the specific needs of outage-affected areas. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is demonstrated through tests on the IEEE 118 bus system. The results show a significant improvement of up to 100% in system resilience, reducing power outages and accelerating restoration. The findings confirm that integrating NR with optimized MEG deployment enhances service restoration, providing an effective approach for utilities to manage power disruptions.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a very specialized dynamic interface which maintains homeostasis in the central nervous system through tightly controlled molecular and cellular interchange between the blood and the brain. It is growingly recognized that BBB dysfunction is a rather acute and primary pathogenic factor of neurodegenerative diseases but not the result of neuronal death. This review summarizes existing information about the molecular pathways involved in the disruption of BBB in several of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease. We pay attention to changes of endothelial tight junctions, pericyte degeneration, astrocyte malfunction, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and remodeling of the extracellular matrix that all undermine the integrity of barriers. Besides that, we also discuss disease-specific modifications in BBB transport systems including glucose transporters, ATP-binding cascade efflux pumps, receptor-mediated transcytosis routes, and the ion transport and clearance of toxins, which play a pivotal role in nutrient delivery, toxin clearance, and drug permeability. A clear comprehension of these molecular and transport changes in various conditions of neurodegeneration offers insight to the disease progressions and heterogeneity. Lastly, we comment on the early therapeutic interventions and drugs that are now being developed to repair BBB functionality or selectively regulate its transport characteristics with the BBB serving as a source of biomarker and as a potential therapeutic target in neurodegenerative disease.

This review examines how the Pragmatist philosophical approach provides a dynamic and in-depth framework to understand financial decision-making and investors’ behavior. The traditional financial model utilized in studies just explains how behavioral anomalies deviate from rationality, but the pragmatist approach reframes such behaviors as part of the adaptive learning process led by uncertainty, experiences, and environmental changes. Incorporating thoughts from behavioral finance and pragmatist thought, this review highlights the evolution of investor behavior according to the change in market conditions. This review addresses the gaps in the literature and specifies the area that can be explored, like empirical research by applying a pragmatist approach, and technological advancements in the financial world can be studied as adaptive behavior of investors. The paper influences the attention to investor behavior formation through evolution by experience, concluding by proposing future studies by integrating cross-disciplinary approaches such as philosophy, behavioral economics, and data science to build more rigorous and dynamic models to explain financial decision-making.

Background Colorism, a discrimination against individuals based on their skin color. It remains an under-researched social problem in the South Asian region, particularly in countries like Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. This silent bias shape one’s social acceptance and identity, education, and career opportunities. Despite its significance, this topic has received limited attention in Pakistani research. Methodology In order to analyze the impact of colorism on self-perception and confidence along social dimensions, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted with over 385 residents from Karachi, Pakistan. The questionnaire is designed in a way to cover the insights across four key domains: socio-demographic information, including age and grade level, as well as socioeconomic status, like income or occupation; self-esteem; and self-efficacy. Assessed through carefully constructed sets of assertive/ non-assertive items, participants’ perceptions about their skin tone worth together with capabilities were evaluated for endorsement at varying levels of confidence. Results The findings highlight the widespread yet unspoken influence of colorism on societal views and personal confidence within Pakistani society. Although many participants reported denying the role of skin tone they possess, deep-rooted skin tone biases do exist. Of the 385 respondents, 58.4% were female and 41.6% male, with 34% identifying as having a brown complexion. A majority (74.1%) of being under the age of 30 were socially active as well as vulnerable, as this age group is more exposed to societal standards of beauty and success, making them particularly susceptible to the psychological impacts of colorism. While 53.8% of participants reported that skin tone does not affect social relations, a significant proportion of 23.6% recognized its effect, while another 22.6% remained neutral, demonstrating some degree of internalized colorism. Regarding employment, only 19.2% believed their skin color had a negative impact on job prospects compared to 62.6% who disagreed, and the remainder (18.2%) were uncertain—regardless, these attitudes reveal persistent undertones of colorism in society. Further analysis using the Chi-square test showed that beliefs about career-related colorism significantly correlated with efforts to reduce or alter one’s skin tone, illustrating the psychological and behavioral impacts of such discrimination. Conclusion: The study highlights that perceptions of skin tone can influence social and interpersonal lives. It underscores the need for further research on colorism in the region to understand its implications better and promote discussion on this critical issue. BJMS, Vol. 25 No. 01 January’26 Page : 169-175

The combination of human population growth and environmental destruction, climate change, and international business monitoring of sustainability standards has elevated human resource management (HRM) into a key driver of organizational change. Eco-friendly human resource (Eco-HR) emerges as a new concept explained in this chapter that establishes a direct link between organizational human resource (HR) strategies and ecological as well as social elimination goals. HRM sustainability integration follows essential principles as it requires culture transformation alongside practice modifications to succeed. The analysis includes HR management functions, including green recruitment, along with talent and performance management, and employee engagement to showcase their potential for environmental-minded organization development. A sustainability-focused corporate mission requires HR departments to join forces with other departments to build an overall sustainability strategy. The study addresses hurdles of implementing Eco-HR through analysis of organizational push-back as well as funding restrictions and skill deficits by showcasing solutions such as executive-level participation, continuing education, and digital system implementation. It evaluates how Eco-HR influences employer branding, organizational well-being, and workforce sustainability. Recommendations for advancing Eco-HR are provided for HR professionals and executives as well as researchers throughout the concluding chapter. The study establishes that HRM needs to transform from basic operational functions into a strategic sustainability enabler that ensures extended advantages for organizations and environmental conservation.