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Purpose This paper aims to attempt to offer a viable alternative model of source of financing which is known as integrated cash waqf micro enterprises investment (ICWME-I) model for micro enterprises in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach The literature on the issues of accessing to finance faced by micro enterprises and cash waqf are reviewed critically and used in the attempt of proposing an alternative model.Findings The paper has developed ICWME-I model as a source of financing for micro enterprises. This model is expected to provide financial services by using cash waqf fund and involved the participatory contract between non-profit organization and micro enterprises. In addition, with the proposed model, there will be no collateral requirement, interest rate and other stringent requirements which usually imposed by existing conventional financial institutions.Research limitations/implications The paper is based on conceptual explorations of literature in the area of micro enterprises and cash waqf. This is a conceptual paper, so it did not use any empirical analysis.Practical implications The findings of this paper will provide micro enterprises with an alternative source of financing to start-up or expand their business by using cash waqf fund. The present study also has implications for government and policy makers. With the involvement of non-profit organization that is proposed in this model, it helps the government to reduce its expenses for the development of micro enterprises.Originality/value This paper offers an additional literature on cash waqf especially from the Malaysian context. Furthermore, this paper adds to the literature on waqf and cash waqf. The paper proposes a viable alternative model for micro enterprises as a source of financing by using cash waqf fund. This model incorporates Musharakah Mutanaqisah (diminishing partnership) as a financial arrangement between non-profit organization and micro enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Using the concept of human security, the purpose of this paper is to explore the subjective perception of insecurities experienced by Thai subcontracted workers in industrial value chains and examines how they mitigate these insecurities. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a qualitative approach and analyses the narratives from in-depth interviews with 23 female subcontracted workers in low-income communities in Bangkok, Thailand. Four male subcontracted workers were also interviewed to compare gender differences. Five key informant interviews with NGOs and academicians were conducted. Findings – There are three main findings. First, subcontracted workers’ economic insecurities are influenced by their work and personal trajectories in the labour market. Second, many of their health and care-related insecurities are fuelled by relational rather than individual experience; that is, they are worried they will not be able to provide care for their children, to fulfil their responsibility as mothers, or they are concerned with the effects of their hazardous work environment on their family members. Third, most subcontracted workers mitigate their insecurities using their immediate relational network in the absence of formal protection. Originality/value – While earlier literature on subcontracted workers’ vulnerabilities in Thailand discussed the issues from a politico-economic perspective, this paper uses the concept of human security, which enables us to better understand their insecurities as context-specific experiences in their daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Although there is significant literature on innovation activities in large and medium-sized enterprises, studies that report on innovation practices in micro enterprises are lacking. The purpose of this paper is to explore three issues: understanding of the term “innovation”, innovation practice(s) and how innovation can be effectively measured. Design/methodology/approach – The 12 case studies presented in this paper involve micro enterprises based in Ireland. Data collected during depth interviews provide insights into understanding, practices, motivations, behaviours and attitudes relating to innovation. Findings – Although awareness of innovation theories, processes and procedures is found to be low, all of the micro enterprises studied engage in a range of innovation activities across products, processes, people and marketing. Innovation is important to the development of the enterprises; however, innovation is not a managed or systematic process, and this is often due to lack of resources. Practical implications – This paper presents six recommendations which are of use to academics, micro enterprises and government support agencies. These recommendations include making changes to the service provided by support agencies, simplifying innovation, developing an innovation brokering facility, and improving the design/delivery of innovation programmes. Originality/value – The paper enriches understanding of the experience of participants through the use of narrative structuring, and augments knowledge on the innovation practices of micro enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of financing preference of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) whilst distinguishing a broader range of financing sources beyond what is typically the case within the corporate finance literature. Design/methodology/approach – Under the framework of ordinal logistic regression, the paper also tests whether there is evidence of hierarchical preference ordering as predicted by pecking order theory (POH) using field survey data for 2009. Findings – The authors relate that new enterprises are more likely to prefer low cost and less risky or less formal financing such as internal or bootstrap finances. However, as the enterprise gets established or matures, its capacity to seek formal financing increases, thereby becoming more likely to prefer or being in a higher category of formal financing. While the paper affirms the POH, it is argued that this order is a consequence of severe persistent constraints other than sheer preference. The findings further reveal that, microentrepreneur's and MSE's-specific level socio-economic characteristics such as owner's education or financial literacy status, households tangible assets, ownership structure, enterprise size, as well as sensitivity to high interest rates in the credit market, to be important determinants of either past (start-up), present or future financing preference. Originality/value – The main value of this paper is to analyse the determinants of financing preference of MSEs within the context of rural financial market (RFM) from a developing country perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Quantitative methods known as scoring models have been traditionally developed for credit granting decisions using statistical procedures. The purpose of this paper is to develop a non-parametric credit scoring model for micro enterprises that are not maintaining balance sheets, and without having a track record of performance and other credit-worthy parameters. Design/methodology/approach – Multilayer perceptron procedure is used to evaluate credit reliability in three classes of risk, i.e. bad risk credit, foreclosed risk credit and good risk credit. Findings – The development of a neural network model for micro enterprises facilitates bankers and financial institutions in credit granting decisions in an automatic manner in the Indian context. Originality/value – This study applies comprehensive information on parameters of financial package prepared by Indian financial institutions and banks to micro enterprises to design a credit risk model. This model, instead of categorizing borrowers in terms of their "ability to pay", attempts a solution to the unsolved problem of credit availability to micro enterprises in an Indian context, having no past performance track record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]