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Indonesia is a developing country with the main problems, namely poverty, and one of the problems faced by each province. The government continues to strive to overcome this poverty problem and create a prosperous community condition by providing assistance programs for poverty alleviation. MADM methods that are used to evaluate the socio-economic condition of the family are Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), and Multi-Objective Optimization Method by Ratio Analysis (MOORA) involving 15 socio- economic indicators. The result showed that the recommended alternative sequences are not significantly different in evaluating alternatives using the SAW, TOPSIS, and MOORA methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing poverty, one of the development goals, becomes a world, national and provincial priority as stated in the first of Sustainable Development Goals: No Poverty. There are three poverty indicators calculated by BPS, one of which is the poverty severity index. The poverty severity index describes the level of disparity in spending among the poor. The Central Bureau of Statistics provides poverty data at the national, provincial, and district/city levels but not at the sub-district/village levels. The need for data at a specific level, such as the sub-district, can help implement the poverty alleviation program right on target. Therefore, this study uses the SAE method with the Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (EBLUP) approach to estimate the poverty severity index at the sub-district level in Surabaya with auxiliary variables. Using Susenas data of Surabaya in 2020, the simulation with the generated data of lognormal distribution and normal distribution showed that for both generated data distributions, the EBLUP approach with the REML procedure has the smaller MSE and RRMSE than the EBLUP method with ML procedure and direct estimation method, so, REML procedure is able to produce the best estimator. The poverty severity index at kecamatan (sub-district) level in Surabaya is affected by population growth and the number of facilities and infrastructure in the village/kelurahan. Then, Kecamatan Asemrowo is the sub-district with the highest poverty severity index of 0.0207, while Kecamatan Mulyorejo has the lowest poverty severity index, which is close to zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term effect and elements affecting programme effectiveness are the main topics of this study paper's examination of the connection between microfinance initiatives and the reduction of poverty. The study uses a mixed-methods technique to gather information from a sample size of 500 people, including questionnaires and interviews. The results show a significant positive correlation between microfinance programme participation and long-term markers of poverty alleviation, such as income, asset ownership, and general well-being. Over a five-year period, those who took part in microfinance saw improvements in several areas. The success and durability of microfinance programmes were found to be significantly influenced by programme design, governance frameworks, and community involvement. Greater long-term outcomes on poverty reduction were linked to effective programme design, solid governance frameworks, and active community involvement. These findings give policymakers and practitioners new information and help us better understand how effective microfinance initiatives are at reducing poverty. To maximise the effectiveness and durability of microfinance projects, the study also emphasises the need for tailored programme designs, strong governance structures, and active community engagement. The study recommends more research in the following areas: longitudinal studies with extended follow-up times; investigation of particular programme processes; comparison analysis across regions; and use of impact evaluation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social protection system for the poor and vulnerable in Indonesia continues to be promoted by the government. Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) is one of the newest social security programs that seeks to develop by emphasizing the role of housewives in improving the quality of life. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of women's empowerment in alleviating poverty through the Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) in Lembang Kole Barebatu, Tana Toraja Regency. The research method used is descriptive with data collection techniques, direct observation, interviews with several informants, and documentation. Miles and Huberman's data analysis techniques are: Data Reduction, Data Display, and Conclusion Drawing. The results of the study indicate that poverty alleviation through empowering women in PKH beneficiary groups has been implemented effectively. The active role of program facilitators for PKH beneficiaries is carried out effectively through regular monthly meetings. The monthly meeting contains a series of trainings for housewives discussing household financial management, building personal and group businesses, children's education, and family health to realize the program's goals, namely financially independent families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern infrastructure is a global issue that necessitates the search for and attraction of large quantities of long-term investments as a requirement for long-term expansion, poverty reduction, and population quality of life. Because of the existence of this problem in recent decades, more complicated and expensive infrastructure projects have been implemented by means of the PPP system, which has a high potential for enticing investment. In the face of restricted monetary resources, this method allows the public and private sectors to pool their financial resources to complete large infrastructure developments. The restricted usage of prevailing tools at various periods of PPP (public-private partnership) projects, as well as the growing demand for more resources, necessitates considering the use of digital tools to supplement traditional ones. The authors accomplish this by examining existing funding instruments, showing their benefits and drawbacks, and identifying and justifying the usage of digital tools in the application of PPP projects. On the other hand, digitalization encompasses not just financial tools but also infrastructure development, such as the advancement of digital platforms required to undertake such processes in a digital state. As a result, a unified funding toolset, encompassing traditional and digital resources, may be developed for each phase of project execution. The findings of this study will be used to highlight the directions of the PPP mechanism's digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green Economy deals with human welfare and its care for the preservation of the environment and ecosystem of life in term of economic development but every coin have two side, economic development also affected negatively i.e. depletion of natural resources due to over exploitation, pollution of air, water and land. Green economy refers an economy to promote growth and development, conserve natural capital, mend well-being of human and poverty alleviation and bring down inequality. Concept of Green economy arise when economy work along the sustainability goals. The core of green economy have low carbon growth, resource efficiency and social inclusive through green business and energy management to implement sustainability. Islam consider human being as superintendent of earth to whom Quran guided, earth is vital defended component for sustain future. In Islamic approaches to sustainable green life involves living in peace and harmony. This paper aligns triple bottom line rules of sustainable development i.e. profit, people and planets to attain the green economy with fundamental rule of Islam in order to protect the environment and to enhance growth and development. This paper has an attempt to bring in light, how Green banking take along financial stability and economic growth, poverty alleviation and environmental protection that contribute to improves the environment as means of cost and energy savings, preservation of natural resources and the need to respect all living things. Objective of study: To analyses the fundamental rules of Islam in relation to profit, people and planets to attain green economy. To find out relationship between financial stability, economic growth, poverty alleviation, environmental protection and green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various approaches to defining poverty as an economic category that affects the scale of poverty. The countries in which poverty is one of the most pronounced problems are also considered. These are the so-called "third world" or developing countries. The article also reflects the general economic problems of poor countries, traces the evolution of directions of economic thought related to increasing the level of welfare and reducing poverty in developing countries; the experience of economic policy implementation in relation to poverty reduction in countries of various socio-economic types is analyzed. The analysis made it possible to identify the correspondences and disagreements between theoretical models and real practice aimed at improving the standard and quality of life through the active involvement of the poor in economic processes. A typology of theoretical approaches to poverty reduction (elimination) was formed according to priority instruments of socio-economic policy and the time of their appearance. And various ways of overcoming this problem are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary motive of this study is to examine the role of renewable energy in the sustainable development of developing countries. Renewable energy can be important factor in development of economy. Development in economy is closely associated with the poverty alleviation and upgradation of standard of livings. Government of country have framed various policies, created suitable legal atmosphere and allowed foreign investment to create position in global market of renewable energy. This sector can provide rapid growth to the economy and may create employment. This paper aims to identify various responsible factors of renewable energy in sustainable development of country. Findings of the study indicated various challenges in implementation of renewable energy and recommended that top authorities must focus on providing necessary infrastructure and make the people aware about the renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education can be the real ticket to poverty reduction and sustainable development for any country. This article discusses the importance of using information and communication technologies in managing education for sustainable development in Indonesia. We analyze ICT variables in student learning, ICT in teaching, and research, the role of information systems in university administration and the challenges of applying ICT in university studies in Indonesia. It provides useful tips and recommendations to be used to address challenges and improve the effective use of ICT to better manage the education sector for sustainable development in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize decent housing for the poor, the government has launched a social rehabilitation program for Uninhabitable Houses (RTLH) based on Law Number 13 of 2011 concerning Handling the Poor. The problem that arises is that the prospective recipient is not registered in the 2018 Unified Database (BDT) and the assistance is not sufficient so that the recipient has to borrow or sell the assets they have. To ensure this, it is necessary to evaluate the implementation of the RTLH program with the aim of 1) identifying the perceptions of the recipients of the RTLH program, 2) identifying the impact of the RTLH program on poverty alleviation efforts. The sample from the study came from three sub-districts with the highest number of RTLH in Magelang Regency. This type of research is descriptive qualitative with data collection methods in the form of observations, interviews, and literature studies. The results are that 1) all informants feel helped by this program even though the funds provided are not sufficient so they have to borrow or sell assets, 2) this program has an impact on poverty alleviation even though it is not evenly distributed, 3) and a synergistic relationship is needed in the management of the renovation assistance program. RTLH involving local government, village government, recipients of RTLH assistance, community, and CSR. This research has implications for policies that will be made by the District Government in the future to improve the procedures for providing RTLH assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solving poverty is the biggest global challenge, so it becomes the first goal in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The availability of accurate data is an important aspect to support poverty reduction strategies. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) has not been able to calculate the percentage of poverty up to small areas, such as sub-districts, because samples in the survey were not representative. Small Area Estimation (SAE) is a method used to estimate a small area with less or no sample. The problem arises when the estimator produced is not the same as the official statistics published for the higher level. The SAE often involves constructing predictions with an estimated model followed by a benchmarking step. In the benchmarking operation, the predictions are modified so that weighted sums satisfy constraints. In this study, Hierarchical Bayesian (HB) area level models are used to estimate the sampled and non-sampled areas. Posterior means and posterior variances of parameters of interest are first obtained using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. Then the HB estimators (posterior means) are benchmarked to obtain Benchmarked HB (BHB) estimators. Posterior Mean Squared Error (PMSE) is then used to measure uncertainty for the BHB estimators. The PMSE can be represented as the sum of the posterior variance and the squared difference of HB and BHB estimators. The evaluation of the HB and BHB estimators was carried out in the context of the estimated percentage of poverty at sub-district level in Central Java, Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy poverty is a pressing societal challenge, affecting over 700 million people worldwide, particularly underserved communities. Although information systems (IS) resources have been made available to alleviate energy poverty, realizing their effective use for intended impacts remains challenging. In this ongoing research, we adopt a resourcing perspective to explore how IS resources can be effectively used to alleviate energy poverty in underserved contexts. We present a community case study in Lusaka, Zambia, where the effective use of IS-based Energy Systems (IES) has yielded promising results. We develop an initial framework that explains "what it takes" to realize effective IES resourcing for energy poverty alleviation, including mechanisms (i.e., gap spotting, narratives, and scaffolding) and actors (i.e., resource providers and users) in three stages - resourcing IN, resourcing WITHIN, and resourcing OUT. We also indicate the next steps of this study and expected contributions and discuss implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transport is one of the most important ways to help a country drive economic growth and alleviate poverty, but it can also have devastating effects on the environment. Increased rates of habitat loss and fragmentation, erosion, and loss, as well as noise interruptions, contamination, toxic pollutants, vehicle emissions that worsen air quality, and deforestation and habitat destruction, are some of the impacts public transportation has on the environment. The synthesis paper seeks to explore these ecological impacts. This study employed a phenomenological research design to address its goals. Moreover, qualitative data collection was employed. The study population was from Klipspruit Valley Station. The study employed a non-probability sampling strategy. In addition, purposive sampling was used to select the Rea Vaya station that was relevant for the research. Both primary and secondary data sources were employed. The observations done to collect data using ArcGIS and Google Earth as well as through site visit in order to formulate the results and findings constructively. Impacts on ecological factors because of transportation infrastructure, landscape, noise pollution, vibrations and heavy load were observed. Furthermore, Soil pollution by transportation projects and operations impacts were presented. These challenges resulted in traffic congestion, which further caused longer traveling distances and time. Qualitative data was analysed by using content analysis. Images and maps were utilized to depict the observations made on the ground. Therefore, an urban public transport framework that may be used to reduce the ecological impacts of the Bus Rapid Transit system was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research is aimed to evaluate some programs for poverty reduction that have, all this time, been implemented in some target locations of the research as a synchronization for poverty reduction initiated by the East Java Government in collaboration with the Regional Government. The research, further, was focused on a handling program for People with Social Welfare Problems (i.e., homeless, beggars, prostitutes, street children, and psychotic homeless) and an assistive program for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises that existed around the research's target locations. Further, qualitative research method was used. In accordance with the findings on the handling program for People with Social Welfare Problems and the assistive program for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the locations, numerous strategical indicators were used to evaluate those programs. The indicators set in each of the locations included effectivity, adequacy, uniformity, and accuracy; all of which had been met. Nevertheless, in terms of responsivity, it still remained inadequate. It was due to the fact that responsivity required good balance between the urgency of the programs and the actual needs of the program recipients. To evaluate the success of those programs, indeed, public responses from the target communities, as the recipients, were needed to identify the degree of satisfaction with the running programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the Poverty Reduction Program from a public policy perspective. This type of research is a qualitative research with data collection techniques through interviews with informants. The informants in this study were the head of the Social Service, the Medan City Regional Development Planning Agency, the Regional Apparatus Organizations Related to the Medan City, the Regional People's Representative Council and the Community. Determination of informants based on the purposive method to obtain research data. Furthermore, the research data were analyzed qualitatively. The results of this study found that The poverty alleviation program in the city of Medan has been implemented, but there is still a lack of organizational integrity for regional officials in the policy of determining the objects and targets of aid beneficiaries. For example, each OPD still uses the old method by making its own poverty reduction program with the same object and target, resulting in overlapping data and beneficiaries. Public policy implementation must be based on the need to solve the problem of poverty that occurs in society. Public policy is determined by the parties (stakeholders), especially the government, which is oriented towards meeting the needs and interests of the community. Poverty reduction policies in the City of Medan are contained in the Regional Regulation (Perda) of Medan City Number 5 of 2015 concerning Poverty Reduction. This regional regulation regulates the availability of programs and facilities from the government-funded by the Medan City Regional Budget for people who are classified as poor (poor) but have not fully guaranteed to break the poverty chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High unemployment rates and inadequate employment are significant obstacles to achieve one of the Indonesia Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) which is poverty alleviation. The development of entrepreneurship and technology-based business start-up trends is one solution to these problems. Universitas Andalas organizes The Entrepreneur Lecture Series regularly in the form of knowledge sharing by business persons and entrepreneurs to support those trends. A study to investigate the effectiveness of knowledge sharing conducted through the Entrepreneur Lecture Series in improving engineering students' technopreneur capabilities and individual innovation behavior. Data collected through a survey of engineering, agricultural, and information technology students. Analysis carried out with SEM-PLS, while the mediating effect of individual innovation behavior tested using the Sobel Test. The test results show that knowledge sharing conducted through the Entrepreneur Lecture Series has a positive influence on improving the technopreneur capabilities of engineering, agricultural technology, and information technology students. However, the effect is still relatively weak. Efforts are needed to improve the effectiveness of knowledge sharing. Further testing is required to determine the effect of knowledge sharing through the Entrepreneur Lecture Series on individual innovation behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty has been a major social problem that is faced by almost every country in this world. Poverty is regarded as a social disease that is very arduous to eradicate. Even in Malaysia, this issue has been a burden for the government to handle and eliminate since poverty has a strong causal effect on society's quality of life and economic factors. Hence, since independence, the key development focus of Malaysia's development agenda has been the elimination of impoverishment. This study assesses the level of poverty risk and identifies factors influencing poverty. The research focuses on socio- demographic characteristics of poor household heads in 66 districts in Kelantan. A Standardised Poverty Ratio (SPR) was measured to determine the level of poverty risk. Spatial poverty mapping was generated using GIS software known as ArcMap. Multiple linear regression was fitted to the data to assess the determinants of poverty. Results indicated that 33 districts in Kelantan are vulnerable to poverty with the SPR values more than 1.0 with the highest was Pengkalan Kubor with SPR value of 3.92. The findings also indicated that the factors that significantly influence poverty were the number of household members, gender, age, and the employment status of the household head. Identifying high-risk areas and determinants of poverty can help other researchers conduct more in-depth studies in the area and increase the effectiveness of poverty reduction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the economic concept, the term green economy is known which gives a deeper focus on uniting poverty alleviation with environmental and natural conservation. The green economy is defined as a concept that results in human wellbeing and social equity, while also significantly reducing the risk of environmental damage and ecological scarcity. This study aims to present a comprehensive knowledge map about the green economy around the world based on Scopus database data. The analysis was carried out in the last 20 years, namely in 2000 - 2020. Based on data mining, it was found that 657 academic documents will be reviewed in terms of annual publications, publication sources, author productivity, affiliations, countries, research subject areas, research collaborations, and a map of research themes on green business. This research contributes to the mapping of Green Economy research themes based on knowledge development based on the Circular Economy, Green Economy, Sustainable Development, and Environment, hereinafter abbreviated as CGSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the mediation effect of the vocational training on the relationship between foreign aid and poverty reduction strategy in the republic of Chad. The number of the sample involved in this study was 335 as given from Krejcie and Morgan's. Thus, the researcher used both random and nonrandom sampling. First, community leaders and members of independent associations were grouped according to the level that they are serving. Then the sample was selected respectively and used purposive sampling method for the convenience in getting the response from the study respondents. Purposive sampling technique was used as the researcher obtained data from specific group in particular districts. Therefore, a structured questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was used as the instrument for data collection. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses of this study. The results found that poverty reduction highly influences by foreign aid and vocational training. To this fact, it is highly recommended that the government of Chad to focus on vocational training; for instance, the government can mainly create a training programs on how to successfully execute national development plans in particular (poverty reduction strategy). Also, foreign aid plays an important role in fighting poverty in Chad, thus more effort need to be made on the management of the aid coming to the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive enterprises enable companies to address social challenges and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They represent both a challenge and an opportunity because they foster a more inclusive economy, implement formulas that break with tradition and give way to more creative business models with greater social impact. In terms of meeting the SDGs, they not only contribute to the most obvious ones, such as decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), but also to eradicating poverty (SDG 1), promoting gender equality (SDG 5) and reducing inequalities (SDG 10). The aim of this paper is to identify the keys and real tools that provide an effective response to the complex challenges that society is currently facing and that affect the common good in our time, mainly in the municipalities of the Valencian Community at risk of depopulation and from a gender perspective. In fact, the report The opportunity cost of the gender gap in the rural world by the ClosinGap cluster and Caixabank (a Spanish saving bank), frames the collateral damage of depopulation in Spain in the masculinisation of the territory; this is a symptom of the lack of equal opportunities for women in rural areas, so that the female population is increasingly concentrated in a very small number of areas. Likewise, the abandonment of villages by women has to do with the lack of employment and opportunities. This is the reason why it is crucial to ensure employment is attractive and accessible so that their inhabitants, especially women, want to -- and can -- stay, generating sustainable and inclusive businesses. This article finally shows how the implementation of tools such as inclusive business can provide a solution to these problems and generate alternatives for women living in rural areas with few opportunities. Inclusive businesses seek to generate sustainable economic and business models that multiply the social and environmental benefits in the areas where they operate. Therefore, they are undoubtedly a great economic opportunity for rural territories as they can contribute to wealth and the development of opportunities in depopulated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addressing poverty, proper poverty alleviation programs must be identified. Analyzing the multidimensional aspects of poverty will lead to data-driven decision making. This study aims to analyze poverty conditions in a community in the Philippines using data mining and clustering algorithm. The model resulted in clusters described in this paper as Stable, Critical, and At-Risk clusters. Among the clusters, the Critical cluster has the highest incidents of poor conditions. In the cluster analysis, poverty alleviation programs where the household clusters should be prioritized were suggested based on the poor conditions in each cluster. The clusters analysis is intended to provide insights for use in the community’s planning and program implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women are one of the vulnerable groups that needed to empower and always discussed in many spaces. This study tried to identify the lack of women backed by structural problems in village policies that do not consider women as a class of vulnerable groups become the most crucial part of development. Qualitative research with natural methods because it is on the basis of natural conditions. This approach is focusing on phenomena or natural settings. The data is collected by interviewing and observing a member of the empowerment and family welfare group (PKK). This study found that mothers of households who serve as household heads trained to take advantage of what they must earn additional income. PKK Group pioneered the village's opposition by involving themselves completely, both from development planning, implementation to the evaluation of performance already underway. The empowerment efforts are not arbitrarily successful as expected; the PKK group is precisely dealing with the problem in the internal body of the organisation. Many planned work programs often fail because they are affected by internal issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline in the South African apparel industry has led to an increase in informal clothing manufacturing microenterprises (CMMEs). These informal enterprises provide employment and generate an income for many people who are unable to find formal employment and, in this way, contribute to poverty alleviation. The labour-intensive nature of clothing production and the consequent job-creation potential of the apparel industry have resulted in the government’s interest in the sector, but support programmes only focus on the formal sector. Limited information about informal clothing manufacturing entrepreneurs necessitated a study to explore the operations of informal CMMEs. A qualitative case study research design was applied within a pragmatist paradigm. A purposive and convenience sampling strategy was used to select 13 informal CMME owners at a business incubation hub to participate in this study. Face-to-face interviews, using an interview schedule, and direct observations, using an observation schedule, as well as documents of the informal CMMEs were used to collect the relevant data. Content analysis, following Bourdieu’s (1986) habitus theory, was used to analyse the interview transcripts and the field notes. The findings revealed how the informal CMMEs, although survivalists, operate on the principles of ubuntu. A lack of financial capital leads to them making use of cultural and social capital to sustain their businesses. Survival of these businesses is important for empowerment and the alleviation of poverty, not only for the participants individually, but also for the larger community. The use of cultural and social capital to obtain skills, resources and experience was evident in the findings. The participating CMME owners demonstrated innovation and creativity to provide customers with garments that were not available for purchase in mainstream clothing retail stores. The study contributes to the body of knowledge about informal enterprises, in particular, clothing manufacturing enterprises. As such, it serves as a useful framework for the formal and non-formal education of apparel entrepreneurs and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Family Hope Program (PKH) is a program launched by the Government of Indonesia in 2007 to break the chain of family poverty. PKH in Bone Regency has been running for approximately ten years, starting in 2010 until now. If the effectiveness of PKH is measured by reducing the poverty rate, PKH in Bone District shows fluctuating results in reducing the poverty rate. This research used a qualitative approach, carried out in Bone District, South Sulawesi Province, from January to June 2019. In this study, the key informants were the District Coordinator (Korkab) PKH Bone Regency, PKH Social Worker Supervisor, three PKH social assistants, and three people. PKH recipient communities. Data collection was carried out through interviews, observation, and documentation. The data were then analyzed through descriptive qualitative, including data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and concluding. The results showed that the factors that hindered PKH facilitators in implementing PKH in Bone Regency were: 1) Internal factors, which included target recipients of assistance, either Inclusion or Exclusion Error, PKH HR itself and PKH infrastructure, 2) External factors that become The obstacles are the lack of support from the village government and the community in the PKH implementation process and there is still access to areas that are difficult to reach by PKH Facilitators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data from Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) in March 2016 stated that the number of poor people in Indonesia reached 28.01 million people. This figure is around 10.86 percent of the national population. The province of Maluku as the third poor contributor from all provinces in Indonesia reached 27.74 percent. Note that, there are 8 districts/cities in the Province of Maluku which are determined as disadvantaged areas, Maluku Barat Daya (MBD) is one of them. Based on data from BPS, in 2014 the percentage of poor people in the district of MBD was the second highest after the district of Maluku Tenggara Barat (MTB) of 11 districts/cities in Maluku where it reached 28.33 percent. The poverty level in a district is relatively difficult to reduce this is due to a large number of villages that have economic access isolation constraints due to unsupported geographical locations. Various programs and policies, both in the social, health, and so on, have been attempted to solve the problem, but they cannot overcome the existing poverty problem yet. The use of the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) method to classify 11 districts/cities in Maluku Province based on data that is characteristic of poverty and consists of 10 variables. Grouping Process Using Number of Clusters: 5, Maximum iteration: 100, Expected velocity error: 10−5. The results using this method: grouping district/cities in Maluku based on poverty factors are: cluster 1 consists of Maluku Tenggara Barat, Buru, Kep. Aru, and Tual; cluster 2 consists of Maluku Barat Daya and Buru Selatan; cluster 3 consists of Maluku Tengah; cluster 4 consists of Maluku Utara, Seram Bagian Barat, and Seram Bagian Timur; and cluster 5 consists of Ambon. Each cluster describes the similarity level poverty based on Partition matrix U which loads the fuzzy centroid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, one strategy has emerged to resolve the challenges for improving access to credit facilities by creating a microfinance institution (MFI) that provides credit to low-income families. However, as a Muslim majority country, Indonesia has established a new form of MFI that comply with Shariah's Shariah Microfinance Institution (SMFI). Besides the shariah based product, SMFI has existed in rural areas, including Pesantren is known as Micro Waqf Bank (MWB). It has created to solve the poverty issues among low-income families that live in rural areas. Also, the main goal of MWB is to provide the convenience platform regarded as the business capital and financing to middle-lower income people and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In line with the vital role of MWB, the present study is written to investigate the effect of MWB sector expansion in reducing the poverty issues among rural communities at 5 selected provinces, Indonesia. This study utilizes the secondary data collected from two sources, i.e. Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) and Islamic Microfinance Institutions and Micro Waqf Banks (IMFI - BWM) for 2018 2019. This study found that MWB financing has a significant negative effect on poverty alleviation among rural communities at 5 selected provinces, Indonesia. We also found that the number of MWB does not significantly affect poverty alleviation among rural communities at 5 selected provinces, Indonesia. On the basis of the study findings, we concluded that MWB plays an important role in reducing poverty among rural communities. In contrast, increase MWB financing institution will be alleviating the poverty among them. Also, the number of MWB has not been fully affected by the number of low-income families in rural areas, Indonesia, due to the small number of operated MWB in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural development is conceived as strategy aimed at finding ways to improve the rural lives with participation of the rural people themselves so as to meet the required need of the rural area. Rural development is perceived as a process of not only increasing the level of per capita income in the rural areas but also the standard of living of the rural population measured by food and nutrition level, health, education and housing. The relationship between rurality and poverty, and the role the agricultural sector can play in rural development, poverty reduction, and overall development. In this paper, based on the conditions of rural economy, an attempt has been made to comprehensively understand the development efforts to rebuild the rural life and livelihood, particularly by providing good quality of drinking water and determining the nutrients level of soil to grow required crops for them. The least-developed countries rural space, agriculture is still necessarily the starting point for rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of ICT4D (ICT for Development) entails using ICTs in support of the international development agenda, such as efforts against poverty or for better education in developing countries. The conceptualisation of ICT4D strongly depends on what is understood as international development itself. Hence, this paper argues that the introduction of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 can be understood as a caesura not only for conceptualising development, but, in turn, for conceptualising ICT4D, as well. On the basis of literature review, this paper analyses the SDG framework and applies it to theories of ICT4D, outlining to which extent this new development agenda requires new approaches to ICT4D. In doing so, this article aims to sensitise the reader towards the challenges and potential dilemmas emerging from this transition and to spark debate on how to conceptualise ICT4D in response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive growth ensures that economic growth directly serves the welfare of lower income and excluded groups of society while focusing on profitability and financial success. Inclusive growth research in management and innovation studies has been supported by the UN, WEF, OECD and World Bank. Digital technologies, digital innovation, and digital entrepreneurship can be critical drivers of growth, productivity, and ultimately, poverty alleviation among marginalized and excluded communities. Yet, there are very few IS studies that utilize an inclusive growth lens and examine the role that digital platforms can play. This paper addresses this gap and adopts a single, revelatory case study approach to explain the process of creation and management of a platform-driven ecosystem and development of capabilities for inclusion of a community of waste collectors in India. The paper presents a process framework and contributes to both inclusive growth and platforms literature while also providing practitioner insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) has emerged in recent years as a framework to understand the nature of places in which entrepreneurial activity flourishes. Spigel (2017) defines entrepreneurial ecosystems as follows: 'combinations of social, political, economic, and cultural elements within a region that support the development and growth of innovative start-ups and encourage nascent entrepreneurs and other actors to take the risks of starting, funding, and otherwise assisting high-risk ventures. In this regard, the areas that this paper wishes to address are; the degree to which existing entrepreneurial ecosystem in Latvia is prosocial; the role of existing dominant actors in the existing entrepreneurial eco-system in Latvia towards enabling pro-social entrepreneurship ventures; and the challenges that the existing NGOs and social enterprises are facing in their interaction with the larger eco-system. In this conceptual paper, theory and qualitative methods of data analysis, i-e interviews have been conducted to elaborate the findings. Scholars, entrepreneurs and public policy makers whom examine regional or national entrepreneurial ecosystems will have an insight towards the institution of a pro-social eco-system culture towards increased entrepreneurial activity with subsequent poverty alleviation, job creation and a larger regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores the scientific literature of the newly developed field of behavioural economics, in order to identify valuable inputs for poverty reduction policy making. As behavioural economics research flourished in the last decades, so did the interest in applying its results for designing more efficient policies, that would actually take into account the psychological variables that modulate human behaviour. Experiments demonstrated that we operate quite differently from what would be expected of the rational, self interested, all knowing analyst, the homo economicus that the standard economic theory created. Thus, scientists focused on identifying ways to capitalize on this knowledge of our psychological functioning in order to facilitate more optimal decisions, fostering better results both on individual and on social level. The nudge theory developed as a response to this need and it quickly gained the attention of policy makers worldwide, while also generating debate on its efficiency and ethical implications. As poverty continues to be a theme of strong preoccupation on international level, despite all efforts made for combating it, inputs from the nudge theory are welcomed, with their promise of measurable positive results with relatively small investments. The research on how to nudge people out of poverty is still at the beginning, but the first steps made offer a promising perspective for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional development policy in Malaysia was targeted to improve economic development, particularly in the east coast region of Peninsular Malaysia, where recorded poverty and unemployment was much higher. In line with government aspirations, there are five regional economic corridors established during Ninth Malaysian Plan (2006-2010). East Coast Economic Region (ECER) Master Plan, approved by the government in 2008 has identified the high impacts programmes and projects to decrease the socio-economic inequalities, eliminate poverty and improve the income and wealth distribution sustainably. This study aims to analyze the socio-economic impacts of human capital development programmes implemented by ECER in the state of Pahang. The study uses the quantitative method by administering a set of questionnaires to 132 respondents from the human capital development programmes participants. It also uses the qualitative approach (in-depth interviews with ten key informants) including direct observation, as well as desk-based research. The outcome of this study finds improvement in the job opportunities, income, and well-being of the participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All cashless payment orders related to the diaspora and resident natural persons from abroad are recorded in the balance of payments. They represent an important and stable source of funds, which is sometimes higher than the inflow of foreign direct investments. Those payments can have a significant impact on the reduction of poverty and can finance part of the economic growth of the recipient country. EU Member States with the highest inflows of payments of resident natural persons from abroad (worker's remittances) in comparison with the size of the economy are predominantly "new Europe" countries, which includes Croatia. Namely, Croatia has the highest level of inflows of payments of resident natural persons from abroad among EU Member States in comparison to the size of the economy. Worker's remittances reached EUR 2,4 bn in 2018, an equivalent of 4.7% of the national GDP. Although Croatia has always had a high level of worker's remittances from abroad in comparison to the size of the economy, more dynamic growth has been recorded in the last couple of years. That could be linked to the emigration growth after Croatia became an EU member state and to opening neighbouring labour markets due to the free movement of workers within the EU. Negative effects will be diminished if the emigration trend could be reversed into a trend of return of emigrants. In that respect, the return of a highly educated labour force could be crucial, since they will bring knowledge and experience gained in the more developed markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, governments and international organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF, etc. have been trying to reduce poverty. Despite this, today, almost 2.5 billion people still live in poverty. Entrepreneurship is seen by many as a way to reduce poverty in all types of economies. Further, entrepreneurship facilitators can play an important role in creating a suitable environment for business activities, hence increasing entrepreneurial activities. This paper provides an insight into how entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurship facilitators (Government, Incubators, and Financial Institutions) help in improving the business environment in all countries across the World and hence contributing to poverty alleviation. To investigate this, the Human Development Index (HDI) is used as a surrogate measure for poverty. Secondary data for Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurial Facilitators, Entrepreneurial Activities, Governance Factors, Social Factors and Economic Factors) and Poverty (HDI)) were collected for the period of 2005 to 2016. Countries analysed are grouped as high-income countries, high medium-income countries, medium-income countries and low-income countries. The study found that there is a positive and significant relationship between entrepreneurial activity and the changes in Human Development Index (HDI) across all countries studied over the 12 year period. It also found that the presence of good entrepreneurial facilitators improves the capacity of entrepreneurial activity which reduces poverty as measured by the HDI. It adds to the body of knowledge by using HDI as a new tool to analyze the impact of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Finally, its findings suggest that entrepreneurial activity may have less impact on poverty alleviation in poor countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shanti Bhavan is an English-language boarding school for poor lower-caste children ages three to seventeen, located in rural Tamil Nadu, India, approximately two hours outside of Bangalore. Founded in 1997 by Dr. Abraham George, a former Wall Street executive, the school has been recognized as one of the most successful NGOs in the space of poverty alleviation and education in India. The organization stands out for the role it plays in cultivating strong, independent, successful women from poor, mostly rural backgrounds, an achievement which has been recognized by the likes of Glamour Magazine and organizations like She's the First. Even as these women launch successful careers at multinational companies, earning middle- to upper-middle class incomes, and charting a course for advanced degrees, challenges remain, especially with regards to the carry-over effects impacting their families. The modern social and cultural values learned at Shanti Bhavan, in college, and in their professional workplaces often clash with traditionally conservative home and community environments. Such differences, combined with lucrative salaries with no parallel in their families, throw up barriers that can potentially sidetrack their personal ambitions and ultimately limit their efforts to support parents and siblings both financially and socially. Drawing on interviews with women graduates from 2014 through 2018, we highlight the possibilities and limitations of emphasizing academic and professional success of poor young as the primary tool for lifting entire families out of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, an inter-disciplinary literature drawing heavily from economics and sociology has addressed the interplay between women's earnings and household income. We tackle three such questions: (1) What share of household income is contributed by women household members? (2) Do women's earnings increase or mitigate inter-household income inequality? (3) To what extent do women's earnings enable their households to escape income poverty and/or to attain middle-class income levels? In recent years, as men's earnings have stagnated or fallen in many countries, and as poverty reduction has become the leading goal of international organizations such as the United Nations, these questions have attracted increasing attention. We extend current scholarship by examining this set of questions in five middle-income countries in Latin America for which we have access to detailed, high-quality microdata: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. To help identify what uniquely characterizes this group of middle-income countries, and to benchmark their outcomes against those in other countries, we compare them to five highincome Anglophone countries that have been the subject of past research: Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database, we focus on couple-headed households in which both the head and the partner of the head are aged 25-59. We find some expected differences between the two groups of countries across three measures of the income distribution (the dispersion of household income, the share of partnered adults that lives in poverty, and the share whose household income places them in the middle class). However, our main finding is that the contribution of women's earnings and transfers to the shape of the income distribution, and thus their potentially equalizing impact, is minimal in the Latin American cluster of countries in absolute terms and relative to the Anglophone cluster of countries. We discuss underlying reasons for differences in the impact of women's earnings between country clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of ICT4D (ICT for Development) entails using ICTs in support of the international development agenda, such as efforts against poverty or for better education in developing countries. The conceptualisation of ICT4D strongly depends on what is understood as international development itself. Hence, this paper argues that the introduction of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 can be understood as a caesura not only for conceptualising development, but, in turn, for conceptualising ICT4D, as well. On the basis of literature review, this paper analyses the SDG framework and applies it to theories of ICT4D, outlining to which extent this new development agenda requires new approaches to ICT4D. In doing so, this article aims to sensitise the reader towards the challenges and potential dilemmas emerging from this transition and to spark debate on how to conceptualise ICT4D in response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty remains a critical problem in many developing countries. In response, 'No Poverty' is the first of seventeen 2030 sustainable development goal (SDG) adopted by all member states of the United Nations in 2015. Given the transparency and auditability features of blockchain, this emerging technology has been suggested as one solution for enabling the no poverty goal. Unfortunately, research on this topic is sparse. In this exploratory study, we investigate how the use of blockchain can facilitate targeted poverty alleviation using a case study of practices in the Chinese city of Guiyang. We apply Giddens' structuration theory in the examination of the case data and find that (1) blockchain application is the outcome of structuration of structure (policies and resources) and the human agents (stakeholders); (2) blockchain enables empowerment and makes surveillance bi-directional; and (3) blockchain application is an ongoing process, with a comprehensive and dynamic viewpoint being critically important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, provide a powerful framework for international efforts to achieve both human development and climate objectives. These SDGs underpin the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that officially came into force in January 2016 and define a path to end poverty, ensure prosperity and protect the planet and its inhabitants. By grouping these priorities into seventeen goals and by establishing measurable and timebound objectives, the SDG foster global awareness, political accountability, improved metrics, social feedback, and public pressures. SDG7 is a dedicated, stand-along goal on energy which aims at "ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all". In this sense, renewable technologies such as Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) can immediately contribute to this SDG. However, under the right framework conditions, CSP can also contribute to the achievement of other SDGs. For example, CSP may also support human development by facilitating access to basic services, improving human health and supporting income generation activities. Additionally, CSP may also contribute to sustainable economic growth by generating economic benefits such job creation and industrial development. To demonstrate such linkages, the purpose of this work is (i) based on literature review, present a preliminary list of the potential contributions that CSP deployment could have in the various SDGs, (ii) propose the Framework for Integrated Sustainability Assessment (FISA) as a possible methodological framework to assess various of such impacts as well as results of a case study application and, finally, (iii) suggest other complementary impact assessment frameworks that could be used to evaluate the rest of CSP potential impacts on the various SDGs. To conclude, for each one of the SDGs, this work also presents some preliminary recommendations aimed at fostering the positive contributions of CSP deployment while minimizing the potential negative impacts on the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty eradication is one of the sustainable development goals that need to be fulfilled as soon as possible. Earlier researches informed that human resource development, particularly children's education, contributes very much to this. One of those studies concluded there is a substantial relationship between household income/expenditure with educational achievement of their children. The objective of this research is to determine the mobility effect and household expenditure elasticity to mean years of children's schooling based on Panel Social Economic Household Survey 2011-2013 in Indonesia. It is found that household expenditure mobility is more common in the three middle quintiles than in the lowest or top quintile, both in urban and rural areas. Also, a household's per capita expenditure has more influence on mean years of children's schooling in urban areaa than in rural. One of the novel implications of this research is promoting the importance of education and evaluating government education programs especially in the cash transfer program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) plays an important role in economic development, due to is its main orientation towards the world of work (UNESCO TVET Strategy 2016- 2021) and the emphasis of the curriculum on the acquisition of employable skills. It's considered to be a tool for productivity enhancement and poverty reduction, at a global level (Europe 2020 communication, EU 2010, 2014). The dynamics of change in TVET in recent years has generated new perspectives / approaches regarding the role of the teacher and his/her responsibilities, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a request for increasing the quality of initial teacher training (Maclean R., Pavlova M., 2013; ET2020 Working Group on Schools Policy (2014-15)). These changes have led to a growing need to adapt the initial teacher training programs in TVET to the current labor market requirements. The quality of teachers in TVET is reflected in the quality of graduates' training and reflects on all stakeholders. Thus, the teachers' role in TVET is essential in achieving quality education and especially in supporting / coordinating students in the transition process- from school to the labor market. The low performances of TVET graduates (relative to basic skills) and the situation on the labor market (compared to the low level of achieved specialized competencies) cast doubt on the quality of TVET, in general, and on the skills of TVET teachers in particular. This paper presents a study on the initial training of TVET teachers worldwide, also taking into account some countries in Europe, among these Romania. The characteristics of the teaching profession in TVET (focusing on the specific competencies for TVET) are highlighted, as well as the specificity of TVET in common competences. Also, the paper presents the implications of new changes (new learning approaches, new technologies in hiring companies, etc.) on the role of TVET teachers and competency profiles. The paper aims at updating the competencies of TVET teachers and proposes an analysis of the assessment in the graduation exams of the training programs. The article is based on a documentary study of some specialized papers on the initial teacher education. The results of the study are reflected in the outline of an up-to-date competency model for TVET teachers, taking into account its rapid pace of development, and in making a critical analysis of how the final evaluation is achieved within the initial training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reform always implies an adjustment, a transformation, or a change. But one always hopes that a reform is for the better, and that it will benefit those who will be affected by the reform. Educational reforms have been seen in this way, since the world changes and we change with it. In this line of thought, we can dare to think that when an educational reform is considered, it concerns all of us, as we are teachers, students, managers and society in general. We have great expectations in all aspects, from economics, which in the end involves all of us, to quality, social reconstruction in the reduction of poverty, providing quality of life, and reducing the gap between the rich and the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfinance plays very important role in improving women decision making by contributing in economic activities. The empowerment of women through microfinance with Self Help Groups would give benefits not only to the individual women but also for the family and community as a whole through collective action for development. Government and Non-Government organizations are making various efforts to promote women empowerment through micro finance. Microfinance institution plays an important role by providing credit to the poor who have no access to commercial Banks. In general, this institution receives financial support from western donors, NGO's or commercial Bank, who lend to microfinance institutions often against below market interest rates. It has become a ladder for the poor, particularly the women to bring them up not only economically but also socially, mentally, politically, educationally and attitudinally. Even the unorganized sector has been heading into microfinance movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalisation has proceeded at faster pace since 1980s because many countries began to change their rigid political structure, which was not helping them to cut through the poverty and unemployment like China, USSR, South Africa, India, Indonesia etc and hence all of them had to embrace economic reform directed towards market, which was expected to yield good results by virtue of trade and investment increasing at speedy rate and boosting economic growth. The net work of MNC has fast expanded and there are only virtual boundaries. The tax structure in each country has been made as pliable as possible and companies have become profitable. New financial instruments have given each person a chance to earn to mitigate the distress. Finally the globalisation of its nature was so excruciating, could not be sustained for long and had to fall flat and halting the progress. Renewed efforts are made to lift the economics from bottom, but finally these are the developed countries which are taking lead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employment of people with disabilities is very important in reducing the risk of poverty, social integration and participation in society. As it is difficult for people with disabilities to integrate into the labour market, social enterprises can be considered as a new opportunity for employment and social inclusion. This study investigates opportunities for social entrepreneurship development based on non-governmental organisations from the perspective of a regional city in Latvia. The paper applies analytical study of secondary sources and in-depth interviews with representatives of non-governmental organisations. The results indicate that non-governmental organisations offer diverse potential for social entrepreneurship development, and various forms of cooperation with local authorities might be possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of basic education in reducing and combating poverty has been a topic of interest for many researchers in the field, becoming obvious that there is a strong relationship between basic education and poverty reduction. Incontestably, we could say, if this is true, the relationship between higher education and poverty reduction should be positive and much stronger, all the more so at the theoretical and empirical level we can speak of a consent on the fact that higher education is a key factor for generating new jobs [1]. For years, higher education has been considered as an expensive and inefficient service mainly to the benefit of the rich and privileged [1]. Nowadays it is considered an effective tool for increasing national productivity and competitiveness, for the country's economic growth and development and implicitly for reducing and combating poverty. In order to support the previous statements and by using the methods of systematic and narrative literature review, the state of the art review and by generating a synthesis of the recent researches, we propose in the present study to make an overtime concise incursion of the existing debates on this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When asked what is to be done about the "refugee crisis" almost every politician will respond that development cooperation in general and rural development programmes in particular, has to do more towards improving the situation in the regions of origin. And indeed, billions of euros are being allocated to the task of combatting the root causes of migration. The German minister for development cooperation, Gert Müller, is prepared to take up the challenge to contribute towards providing refugees and other migrants from poor countries with the prospect of "a better future in their home regions". This presentation wants to look at whether and how development cooperation in general and rural development interventions in particular can fulfil this expectation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural development in its normative determination, practical realization, and continuous improvement is faced with the set of challenges which define it to a significant extent. The basic answer to the current challenges in the field of rural development is given by the stable, longterm and effective state policy. In this paper, after a shorter theoretical observation, the two significant documents in this field have been analyzed in more details: Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development of Serbia for the period 2014-2024 and the Law on Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, but a brief overview of other relevant strategic documents on which the mentioned Strategy relies is also made. Rural development is a significant challenge both for the developed countries and for the developing ones, which is the additional motive for the modern and appropriate strategic and legislative treatment of rural development policy in Serbia. Among other things, the assessment of economic, social, as well as ecological situation, then identification of basic weaknesses, threats and problems, and finally, determining concrete goals and priorities are definitely the basic starting points in conceiving a strategic and normative framework in the consideration of the whole dimension of rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with the statement of the World Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development from Rio de Janeiro (1992), the world's countries have started to develop national policies for implementing the concept of sustainable development. The experiences of those years led to a more pragmatic approach of the sustainable development implementing policies. For the first time the European Union and United Nations also realized that without a qualitative and quantitative quantification of the objectives of sustainable development, which should help for the comparison and tracking of the implementation policies, the targets set at an international, regional or state levels, cannot be reached. The Post-2015 Agenda is an actual finalization of international efforts of the elaborate approach of the sustainable development. The question is, if after the new sustainable development goals set by the UN in the Post-2015 Agenda, Member States will have the ability to implement at a national level but also at a micro-regional level, direct effects upon the people's quality of life on medium and long term. The signals show that states are not yet ready for an efficient local approach to sustainable development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty alleviation is one of the most pressing agenda that have been listed explicitly in many international development goals. In Indonesia, the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been long associated with economic growth and development, eventually resulting in poverty reduction. Despite its dominance in domestic economic activities, Indonesian SMEs are still facing many problems, such as lack of information and technological support, inhibited financial access, and difficulties in marketing and sales. Some ICT initiatives have been underway to address these problems and to enhance Indonesian SMEs. Using sustainable livelihood assets pentagon, we examine how ICT affects the five capitals that are needed to sustain SMEs in the long run. It is found that while some government-led and SMEs-led initiatives have been taken to advance SMEs in social, financial, and physical capital, some other livelihood assets such as human and natural capital are still left far behind. It is then must be understood that ICT itself is not a solution, but rather an enabler to enhance SMEs' sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]