FinTech-Enabled Microfinance for Last-Mile Communities: A Pathway Toward SDG 1 and SDG 8

Purpose FinTech is increasingly recognized for its role in accelerating economic growth; however, a significant gender gap in financial inclusion persists, particularly in developing countries like India. Women entrepreneurs continue to face substantial barriers in accessing financial services due to inequalities in income, education and socio-cultural norms. This study aims to examine how FinTech adoption (FA) affects women’s entrepreneurship (WE), with a focus on the mediating role of financial inclusion (FI) and the moderating influence of gender gap in educational attainment (GGEA). Design/methodology/approach The study leverages a data set covering Q1 2008 to Q1 2023, drawn from various sources, including the World Development Indicators, Financial Access Survey, micro, small, and medium enterprise database and Global Gender Gap Report. A moderated mediation model is tested using SPSS and the PROCESS macro. Findings The results show that FA significantly enhances WE. This relationship is mediated by FI. However, the direct effect of GGEA on WE is negative, suggesting that higher education may lead to non-entrepreneurial career paths or reflect systemic barriers. Importantly, the positive effect of FI on WE is stronger in contexts with greater educational equality. This emphasizes the need for integrated policies that combine financial and educational inclusion. Originality/value This study offers a novel framework by exploring the moderated mediation effect of educational gender equality between FinTech, FI and entrepreneurship pathways. It provides actionable insights aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) such as SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).

PurposeSustainable development must address the challenge of ensuring decent work for all (SDG 8) and promoting good health and well-being (SDG 3). This study aims to assess the relationship between decent and meaningful work and their impact on work engagement and job satisfaction among adult workers. Decent work goes beyond mere employment, encompassing standards for a fulfilling life, including fair compensation and workplace security, while fostering personal development and social integration. Following the psychology of working theory (PWT), decent work is a prerequisite to the attainment of meaningful work, viewed as a positive belief system about one’s work and its potential positive impact on life and the world.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 276 adult workers, aged 21–70 years (M = 43.55, SD = 11.76), was surveyed to explore the association between decent and meaningful work and the following impact on work engagement and job satisfaction. Structural equation modelling was employed.FindingsThe study identified meaningful work as a crucial mediator between decent work and the outcomes of work engagement and job satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the importance of cultivating meaningful work experiences to enhance workplace well-being.Organisations should prioritize interventions to promote both decent and meaningful work to align with sustainable development goals and improve employee satisfaction and engagement.Originality/valueOur findings emphasize the pivotal role of decent work and, consequently, meaningful work in shaping employees’ well-being.

Sustainability has become an indispensable core consideration when nations formulate their development policies. This study delves into the dynamic correlations between ecosystem services (ESs) and localized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a typical hilly region in southern China. Various ESs were computed using the InVEST model, while spatial econometric models were employed to assess ES responses to SDG targets at the county, sectoral, and overall spatial levels. The findings revealed the following. (1) From 2005 to 2020, there were differences in the development rates of various SDG targets in Ganzhou. Except for SDG 15, which declined, the development of the other targets showed an overall increasing trend. The development of the various SDG targets was relatively balanced, but SDG 9 and SDG 7 had the highest growth rates, ranging from 9.4% to 10.7% and 9.4% to 10.3%, respectively. The comprehensive SDG assessment index exhibited significant spatiotemporal variation, with a general trend of higher values in the north and lower values in the south. (2) The local ES showed a delayed response to SDG 1 and SDG 2, but there was a significant positive response to SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 6, SDG 8, and SDG 9. However, responses to SDG 7, SDG 11, SDG 13, and SDG 15 showed regional differences. This study not only provides valuable insights for sustainable development in Ganzhou and other regions of China but also offers Chinese perspectives and experiences that may inform global efforts towards SDG implementation. This study fills the gap in existing research by constructing a localized SDG indicator system and quantifying each SDG indicator, further exploring the response of the ES to each SDG in the region. Looking ahead, we anticipate further research to deepen the understanding of the relationship between ESs and SDG targets on a broader geographical scale and over longer timeframes, aiming to provide a more robust scientific foundation for building a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature in the future.

In the last 30 years, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have emerged as a powerful tool in the promotion of the well-being of women and sustainable development. This article conducts a systematic bibliometric review of 387 peer-reviewed articles between 1994 and 2024 to track trends, influential contributions, and thematic evolutions in SHG research. With reference to the Scopus database, utilising Bibliometrics and TCCM (Theory–Context–Characteristics–Methodology) frameworks, the paper presents a map of the intellectual structure and conceptual patterns of the literature. Results reveal SHGs’ influence on various dimensions of well-being such as economic empowerment, social cohesion, access to health services, leadership, and psychosocial resilience. Research on SHG has increasingly been associated with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 1 (No Poverty); SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being); SDG 5 (Gender Equality); SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Four major themes emerged from this study:’ financial inclusion and empowerment’, ‘maternal and child health’, ‘social support and good health, and gendered leadership and collective agency’. The structured TCCM analysis of 91 high-quality ABDC-listed articles was performed to obtain qualitative insights into the SHG–SDG-development nexus. The results uncover a theoretical fragmentation, geographic concentration of research, insufficient methodological diversity, and under-explored themes such as digital inclusion and multi-dimensional development impacts. This review highlights the potential of SHGs as a bottom-up approach to achieving the SDGs, gender-inclusive development, and the increased agency of women in sustainable and context-specific ways.

This study investigates the role of financial inclusion in enhancing the effectiveness of microfinance programs in reducing poverty in Burundi, with a particular focus on their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Employing a mixed-method research design, the study collected data from 420 microfinance beneficiaries across four provinces through surveys and semi-structured interviews. Using multiple regression and structural equation modeling (SEM), the findings reveal that financial inclusion significantly mediates the relationship between microfinance participation and household welfare improvement. Access to financial services—such as savings, credit, and mobile banking—positively influences income generation, consumption stability, and business expansion among low-income households. However, the study also identifies barriers including high interest rates, limited outreach in rural areas, and low levels of financial literacy, which constrain the inclusiveness of microfinance initiatives. The results suggest that microfinance alone is insufficient to achieve sustainable poverty alleviation without complementary strategies such as financial literacy enhancement, gender-sensitive credit policies, and digital financial innovation. The study concludes that strengthening financial inclusion is essential for transforming microfinance into an effective instrument for inclusive and sustainable development in Burundi.

According to UNWTO 2012 (United Nation World Tourism Organization), “Tourism has a great potential to accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs). In India, rural tourism is one of the modern and emerging concepts, gaining popularity for playing a significant role in rural development. This is an alternative livelihood through which local people are getting social, economic, and cultural benefits. And, the Ministry of Tourism is also focusing on creating rural tourism projects. At present, Govt. of India has 107 rural tourism projects in 29 States which is an initiative towards AtmaNirbhar Bharat and Sustainable Development in rural areas of India. Many goals of Sustainable Development are directly and indirectly related to the objectives of rural tourism and the Govt. of India wants to rejuvenate this to gain self-economic growth after the COVID-19 outbreak. So, this paper focused on how sustainable development goals like gender equality; decent work, economic growth, etc. are connected with rural tourism. This paper is based on content analysis techniques and secondary data like reports from the Ministry of Tourism, reports on evaluation cum impact study of rural tourism projects (2011), India Tourism Statistics (2022), National Sample Survey Office report, and National Tourism Policies, Internet and Mobile Association of India report on homestay. The paper provides an overview of the connection of rural tourism and SDGs and how it is helping to achieve some sustainable development goals in India.

While Earth observation (EO) increasingly provides a multitude of solutions to address environmental issues and sustainability from the city to global scale, their operational integration into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework is still falling behind. Within this framework, SDG Indicator 11.6.2 asks countries to report the “annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities (population-weighted)”. The official United Nations (UN) methodology entails aggregation into a single, national level value derived from regulatory air quality monitoring networks, which are non-existent or sparse in many countries. EO, including, but not limited to remote sensing, brings forth novel monitoring methods to estimate SDG Indicator 11.6.2 alongside more traditional ones, and allows for comparability and scalability in the face of varying city definitions and monitoring capacities which impact the validity and usefulness of such an indicator. Pursuing a more harmonised global approach, the H2020 SMURBS/ERA-PLANET project provides two EO-driven approaches to deliver the indicator on a more granular level across Europe. The first approach provides both city and national values for SDG Indicator 11.6.2 through exploiting the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service reanalysis data (0.1° resolution and incorporating in situ and remote sensing data) for PM2.5 values. The SDG Indicator 11.6.2 values are calculated using two objective city definitions—“functional urban area” and “urban centre”—that follow the UN sanctioned Degree of Urbanization concept, and then compared with official indicator values. In the second approach, a high-resolution city-scale chemical transport model ingests satellite-derived data and calculates SDG Indicator 11.6.2 at intra-urban scales. Both novel approaches to calculating SDG Indicator 11.6.2 using EO enable exploration of air pollution hotspots that drive the indicator as well as actual population exposure within cities, which can influence funding allocation and intervention implementation. The approaches are introduced, and their results frame a discussion around interesting policy implications, all with the aim to help move the dial beyond solely reporting on SDGs to designing the pathways to achieve the overarching targets.

The World Health Organization recognizes that physical activity (PA) during childhood is crucial for healthy development, aligning well with the achievement of several United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study aimed to explore the associations between 10 key indicators of PA for children and adolescents assessed in the Global Matrix 4.0 project, and the UN SDGs. Data from 57 countries/jurisdictions of the Global Matrix 4.0 project were used. The UN SDG indicators were sourced from the SDG Transformation Center, which publishes each country's performance on each of the 17 SDGs. Given the robust evidence supporting plausible links between PA and SDGs 3 (good health and well-being), 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 13 (climate action), and 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), these SDGs were investigated. Countries/jurisdictions with good and moderate performance in achieving SDG 3, SDG 9, SDG 11, and SDG 16 had higher grades than countries/jurisdictions with fair performance in achieving these SDGs for the following indicators: Organized Sports and PA, Community and Environment, and Government Investments and Strategies. However, countries/jurisdictions with good performance in achieving SDG 13 had lower grades than countries/jurisdictions with fair performance in achieving SDG 13 for the following indicators: Organized Sports and PA, Community and Environment, and Government Investments and Strategies. Organized Sports and PA, Community and Environment, and Government Investments and Strategies were the indicators that demonstrated differences between countries/jurisdictions with good and poor performance in achieving the SDGs.

This study offers a comparative analysis of Singapore and Lebanon’s progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Singapore, a high-income island city-state, has demonstrated significant advancement due to its stable political environment, strong institutions, long-term strategic planning, and sustained economic prosperity. Ranking 65th globally in the 2024 Sustainable Development Report, Singapore has made good or fair progress in over half of the SDG targets, particularly in Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Quality Education (SDG 4), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11). However, it still faces challenges in areas such as Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), and Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), along with data gaps. In stark contrast, Lebanon, a middle-income nation, faces immense challenges that have significantly hindered its SDG progress. Ranking 110th globally in the 2024 Sustainable Development Report, Lebanon grapples with poverty (SDG 1), hunger (SDG 2), a strained healthcare system (SDG 3), a severe energy crisis (SDG 7), high unemployment (SDG 8), and damaged infrastructure (SDG 9). Persistent political instability, weak governance, recurring economic crises, and the enduring impact of internal and external conflicts, including the Syrian refugee crisis, have severely impeded Lebanon’s ability to achieve the SDGs. To make substantial progress, Lebanon requires fundamental legal and political reforms to address deep-rooted systemic issues hindering its development.

Research background: The realization of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8 hinges on the sustained growth of both the economy and the global employment outlook. In order to ensure progress in fostering inclusive and equitable growth and employment opportunities, it is essential to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the SDG findings across all relevant subtargets. Purpose of the article: This study provides an in-depth analysis of the research surrounding SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), emphasizing its pivotal role in sustainable development. Methods: Utilizing the PRISMA framework and BERTopic method, it explores the intricate interconnections between SDG 8 and other goals, such as reducing inequalities (SDG 10), clean energy (SDG 7), climate action (SDG 13), poverty alleviation (SDG 1), and innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9). Findings & value added: The findings emphasize the importance of subtarget 8.1 (sustained per capita growth) and subtarget 8.5 (full employment and decent work for all). Additionally, the study underscores the need for policies supporting resource efficiency and sustainable consumption (subtarget 8.4), while green innovation and the digital economy are strongly linked to subtarget 8.2 (enhanced productivity through technological upgrading). Ensuring that economic growth is inclusive and equitable, as outlined in subtarget 8.3, is crucial for reducing inequalities. Policymakers must balance economic growth with environmental sustainability, promoting decent work conditions (subtarget 8.8) and adopting green technologies. These findings offer valuable insights for advancing SDG 8, ensuring that economic progress benefits all segments of society while safeguarding natural resources and fostering long-term prosperity.

Purpose: To systematically review and synthesize existing empirical evidence on the multifaceted impacts of cryptocurrency integration on economic development and stability, aiming to determine whether its proliferation is predominantly beneficial or detrimental to sustainable economic systems. Methodology: A systematic literature review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The Scopus database was searched for empirical articles published between 2010 and 2024, focusing on keywords related to cryptocurrencies, economic development, economic growth, financial stability, financial risks, and financial inclusion. A multi-stage filtering process led to the inclusion of 21 relevant research articles. Results: The review reveals a predominant consensus (52.4% of reviewed articles) that cryptocurrency integration has a negative impact on economic growth and stability, primarily due to volatility, systemic risks, and its use in illicit activities. While some studies highlight potential for financial inclusion (e.g., SME financing) and as a hedge in specific contexts, the broader findings point to significant challenges for monetary policy, regulatory oversight, and conventional banking paradigms. The theoretical contribution: This study consolidates fragmented research into a coherent overview, highlighting the complex and often contradictory effects of cryptocurrencies. It contributes to understanding the challenges digital currencies pose to traditional economic theories and models of financial stability, particularly within the context of achieving sustainable development. Practical implications: The findings urge policymakers to develop robust, globally coordinated regulatory frameworks to mitigate systemic risks, combat financial crime, and protect consumers. Financial institutions must adapt their risk management strategies to accommodate digital assets. The study also highlights the importance of public financial literacy programs regarding cryptocurrency risks and advocates for considering the impacts of cryptocurrency in broader economic and sustainable development planning. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities; SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

Can goals change the world? In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to "transform our world" by 2030. With these highly ambitious goals, world leaders pledged to "end hunger", "achieve gender equality", "protect life on land", and much more. Importantly, the SDGs emphasise the need for more collaboration, the breakdown of 'silos' in global governance, and to achieve the SDGs in a balanced and integrated manner. This call for both institutional and policy integration in global governance is long-standing, but remains highly challenging. The SDGs - as the most central and ambitious global agenda so far - have given a renewed impetus to this call. Yet, empirically, we know very little about the effects of global goals. Can non-binding, highly ambitious goals really steer global governance? In this thesis, I investigate the steering effects of the SDGs on international organisations. Specifically, I assess whether - since the advent of the SDGs - institutional integration among and policy integration within international organisations has increased. My methods are both quantitative and qualitative. I rely primarily on a large dataset of scraped websites of 276 international organisations, and assess the contents of and hyperlinks between websites. To complement this data, I also conduct a discourse analysis and analysis on Twitter data. My findings can be summarised in four key points. First, while many international organisations use the SDGs on their websites, the SDGs are not yet a fully global framework. Many international organisations use the SDGs on their websites, and this increases over time. However, the SDGs are mainly used by the larger organisations and by UN entities, while many of the smaller and more regional organisations do not or barely use the SDGs. Second, policy integration overall is increasing, but the integration of environmental topics with socio-economic topics is lagging behind. As mentioned, the call for more policy integration is long-standing, and indeed an increase in policy integration is observed in my study. However, mainly socio-economic topics (ending poverty, decent work, innovation and infrastructure) are integrated with one another, while the integration of environmental with socio-economic topics occurs much less frequent. Third, while policy integration is overall increasing, the SDGs appear not to be an influencing factor. The international organisations that use the SDGs more, do not subsequently show an increase in policy integration. It is rather the other way around: those international organisations that already showed higher levels of policy integration, also use the SDGs more. Thus, the SDGs are used to frame efforts towards policy integration, but do not spur it. Fourth, the SDGs facilitate institutional integration within policy domains. This also means, conversely, that institutional integration between policy domains has decreased. Thus, contrary to political expectations of the SDGS to "break down silos", silos around the 17 issue areas of the SDGs and around the economic, social and environmental dimension of sustainability have strengthened.

Artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) is a critical means of livelihood for many, particularly in Ghana's rural mining communities, providing substantial financial support for households. However, illegal ASM activities have engendered pervasive apprehensions due to their adverse environmental repercussions and sustainability impediments. This review examines the positive benefits as well as the negative implications of illegal ASM on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), drawing on empirical evidence from primary research articles and grey literature. This review paper used a systematic approach to gather and analyse relevant literature. An extensive literature search was conducted across databases, including Web of Science Core Collection, EMBASE, GEOBASE, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, focusing on peer-reviewed journal publications and relevant grey literature. The inclusion criteria focused on key themes relevant to the topic, while the exclusion criteria eliminated content that did not meet standards, including doubtful or predatory sources. The data extraction summarised findings and conclusions to highlight trends and gaps. A qualitative synthesis provided an overview and a potential guide for future research. The findings reveal that illegal ASM has resulted in significant contamination of freshwater resources. Analysis of water samples found concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits, with values of 0.28, 0.13, 0.30, and 0.03mg/l, respectively. Similarly, sediment analysis demonstrated concentrations of these heavy metals above sediment quality guidelines, with 22.92mg/kg for arsenic, 5.41mg/kg for cadmium, 98.01mg/kg for lead, and 0.81mg/kg for mercury. Furthermore, specific river sediment concentrations surpassed guideline values, particularly in the Birim River and others. Over the period from April 2013 to June 2024, approximately 377 artisanal small-scale miners perished due to mine pit collapses. Additionally, a 25% reduction in forest cover has occurred in Southwestern Ghana within the last decade, with artisanal mining activities impacting an estimated 2,700 hectares of land and encroaching on 800 hectares of protected areas. Notwithstanding the beneficial contributions of ASM to SDG 1 and 2, namely job creation and income generation for rural mining communities, the detrimental impacts of ASM appear to surpass the benefits. Illegal ASM disrupts progress towards numerous SDGs, including SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 5: Gender Equality, SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 14: Life Below Water, and SDG 15: Life on Land. This review calls for stakeholders, especially governments, to address small-scale mining's problems. ASM offers economic benefits, but its adverse impact on health, environment, and sustainability requires balanced regulation and support for sustainable practices. Responsible policymaking is crucial as ASM grows globally, with major impacts on local communities and the environment. Policymakers must work with ASM operators, civil society, and experts to develop and implement a plan that promotes responsible mining, protects the environment, and secures the long-term viability of this key economic activity.

This study assesses the alignment of tourism management practices in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, it focuses on SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The research evaluates tourism types, facilities, annual tourist arrivals, and accreditation of providers within Local Government Units (LGUs). Key management practices examined include planning, infrastructure development, economic and environmental initiatives, marketing, community engagement, and sustainability efforts. Findings reveal that tourism in Nueva Ecija is predominantly ecotourism-based, with emerging potential in adventure, religious, and agro-tourism. While the region possesses various facilities and increasing tourist arrivals, gaps exist in infrastructure, marketing, and community involvement. Most tourism establishments are Department of Tourism (DOT)-accredited, yet participation in national tourism bodies remains limited. Alignment with the SDGs is moderate; SDG 15 (Life on Land) is strongly supported, while SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 14 show emerging alignment. Influencing factors include government policies, stakeholder collaboration, tourist preferences, and economic and environmental conditions. The study culminates in a proposed strategic plan for enhancing tourism’s SDG alignment, recommending improvements in infrastructure, community engagement, sustainability practices, marketing, and governance to foster inclusive and resilient tourism development. These findings provide actionable insights for local and global contexts, supporting sustainable tourism growth.

The adoption of climate-smart farming (CSF) practices presents an opportunity to strengthen agricultural resilience, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance rural livelihoods. However, quantifying the socio-economic returns of these interventions remains a critical gap in sustainable development research and policy evaluation. This study proposes an assessment framework for measuring the socio-economic returns from climate-smart farming practices, integrating environmental sustainability, economic viability, and social inclusivity dimensions. The framework is structured around three analytical pillars: productivity enhancement, adaptive capacity, and livelihood diversification. Each pillar encompasses measurable indicators such as yield gains, input efficiency, carbon intensity reduction, income stability, labor utilization, and gender participation. A mixed-methods approach combining cost-benefit analysis (CBA), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), and social return on investment (SROI) is employed to capture both tangible and intangible benefits. The framework incorporates life-cycle thinking to account for upstream and downstream effects, linking farm-level interventions to community-level outcomes. Data are collected through household surveys, participatory rural appraisals, and satellite-derived productivity mapping to ensure spatial and temporal accuracy. Weighting and normalization procedures are applied to integrate qualitative and quantitative indicators into a composite index representing overall socio-economic return. The proposed model is validated through pilot applications in smallholder-dominated agro-ecological zones, assessing practices such as conservation tillage, agroforestry, precision irrigation, and integrated soil fertility management. Results demonstrate that CSF adoption generates positive net present values, improves resource-use efficiency, and enhances climate resilience, especially when supported by institutional capacity and access to finance. Sensitivity analysis reveals that market access, policy support, and knowledge transfer significantly influence socio-economic outcomes. The framework provides policymakers and development agencies with a decision-support tool to prioritize climate-smart interventions based on cost-effectiveness, social equity, and environmental performance. By linking sustainability indicators to economic returns, this framework bridges the gap between climate action and rural development planning. It also contributes to tracking progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).