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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In this cross-sectional study, the authors surveyed 384 business owners or managers of SMEs in Uganda. The authors applied confirmatory factor analysis to reduce the number of factors and identify the important elements that capture commercial lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. The authors put forward and tested two hypotheses relating to the significance of the relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit using structural equation modelling with analysis of moment structures 18.

The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. Moreover, the ANOVA results serendipitously show that access to formal credit varies with type of business and turnover. However, collateral and loan repayment periods are not observed variables for commercial bank lending terms. The most significant observed variable for commercial bank lending terms is interest rates. This, together with financial literacy, explains 31 per cent of the variances in access to formal credit by SMEs in Uganda.

The study is limited to the SME firms registered and operating in Kampala, Uganda and it is possible that the results are only applicable to these firms in Uganda. Nevertheless, the findings have implications to commercial banks wishing to improve the turnover of their micro-lending schemes.

Efforts by the stakeholders to improve financial literacy of SMEs owners and managers must be matched with favourable interest rates if access to formal credit is to be enhanced.

The findings also have implications for governments aiming at improving access to finance to overcome income inequality problems, and also improve their growth.

The results provide initial evidence of the aggregate explanatory power of interest rates and financial literacy for the criterion variable, access to formal credit by SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to present corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an alternative roadmap to accelerating realization of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Uganda, even after 2015.

Using a mixed research methodology, this research documented CSR activities of 16 companies operating in Uganda. Data collection was guided by quantitative and qualitative methodologies (semi-structured interviews with CSR managers, plus non-participant observation of CSR activities and projects linked with MDGs). Triangulation was used to ensure credibility and validity of the results. For data analysis, the authors followed a three-stepwise process, which helped to develop a framework within which the collected data could be analyzed. For generalization of the findings, the authors were guided by the “adaptive theory approach”.

Uganda will not realize any MDGs by 2015. However, CSR activities have the potential to contribute to a cross-section of various MDGs that are more important and relevant to Uganda when supported by the government. If this happens, realization of the MDGs is likely to be stepped up. CSR's potential contributions to the MDGs were found to be hindered by corruption and cost of doing business. Lastly, MDG 8 and MDG 3 were perceived to be too ambiguous to be integrated into company CSR interventions, and to a certain extent were perceived to be carrying political intentions which conflict with the primary business intentions of profit maximization.

Governments in developing countries that are still grappling with the MDGs can use this research when devising collaborations with private-sector companies. These documented CSR activities that contribute directly to specific MDGs can be factored into the priority public-private partnership arrangements. Private companies can also use these findings to frame their stakeholder engagement, especially with the government and also when setting CSR priorities that significantly contribute to sustainable development.

This research advances the “Post-2015 MDG Development Agenda” suggested during the United Nations MDG Summit in 2010, which called for academic and innovative contributions on how MDGs can be realized even after 2015.

This paper analyses financial support services (loans and grants) from the perspective of beekeepers in Fiji's Northern Division.

A mixed-method, case study approach was used with key informant interviews, focus groups, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires.

Financial support was found to be an appropriate intervention. While beekeepers have access to loans, matching grants or small business grants to assist the establishment and growth of their activities, the appropriateness of these services varies based on the experience and skill of beekeepers. Capacity building was an important shortcoming in all financial services. It is recommended beekeeping clients undertake outcome-based, practical and/or mentorship-styled training to ensure beekeepers have the appropriate skills to maintain a viable enterprise.

This study was limited by a small sample size. Further research is needed to understand long-term impacts of financial support services and the availability and appropriateness of these within and between regions.

Recommendations are provided to encourage effective financial support for beekeepers to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of their activities. This can impact beekeepers' livelihoods by increasing household income and income security.

There is a paucity of literature on the effectiveness of financial interventions to support beekeeping enterprises. This is the first study to compare financial support services from the perspective of beekeepers in the Pacific region.

Online learning has come to stay in a technologically advancing world with increasing populations. The search for ways to make online learning more efficient and effective in some developing countries continues as the accompanying issues in developing country contexts abound. This paper explores the issues that underlie online learning management in a developing country context, focusing on the Moodle, Sakai and Zoom platforms used in some selected public universities in Ghana.

The study relied on the qualitative approach to data collection and a descriptive design for analysis. Using the social constructivism theory, the paper discussed the critical issues students, and to a lesser extent, instructors encounter in their engagement on these platforms for academic learning.

The study found that the inefficient use of these platforms is due to several factors including the high cost of data, poor perception of the quality of online learning compared to traditional in-person contacts, poor attitude of students, low participation in online learning, lack of computers and poor internet connectivity among others.

It is important to mention that this study was limited to some selected public universities in Ghana. Data could have been collected from a wider sample including other Ghanaian tertiary institutions or some other developing countries. The similarity of study outcomes in other developing countries, however, suggests that similar results would have been obtained in an international sample.

Despite the robustness of the Learning Management systems in place, the evidence suggests that their utilisation is far less than optimal. However, with relevant policies and the provision of needed technical support, training, provision of equipment like computers for use by both students and instructors and efficient internet connectivity, the LMS platforms could be more efficient for online learning.

The authors conducted this research using original data from interviews in the selected public universities in Ghana. The data was meant to inform the discussion on some of the critical issues that underlie online learning in a developing country context. Although the study relied on data from selected public universities in a single country, its outcomes reflect fundamental issues of online learning in a developing country context which find relevance in available study outcomes.

This study aims to examine the adoption of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms to determine the factors that encourage SMEs to use P2P lending platforms in obtaining loans.

A sample of ten SMEs from a variety of backgrounds was taken in Bandung, Indonesia. Bandung has been awarded the title of “creative city” by UNESCO, as the city allows for the development of the creative economy. This research used a semi-structured interview. Coding method was then used for content analysis to establish which factors emerging from the interview were leading respondents to obtain a loan through the P2P lending platform.

The findings imply that loan processes, interest rates, loan costs, loan amounts and loan flexibility affect SMEs in obtaining a loan through P2P lending. Moreover, alternative payment schemes in the form of Sharia-based lending and profit-sharing schemes were found. These findings constituted the original findings of this study.

The study offers findings on factors affecting SMEs in using the P2P lending platform as a form of alternative financing. Moreover, the theoretical framework provided can be used as literature in future research. As this study was conducted in Bandung, Indonesia, the findings may not be generalisable to other regions.

This study is one of the few studies that discusses P2P lending in Indonesia as the concept has been in practice only since 2015.