Development of Local Exchange Trading System for Islamic Microfinance Institutions

摘要

The role of microfinance institutions in recent years has become widely known to help low-income individuals to start their own small-scale microenterprises, hence alleviating themselves from poverty. However, giving out microcredit does not guarantee that their business will be able to succeed or create job opportunities for themselves and others. This situation is worsened with the fact the many microfinance institutions around the world are still relying on donors and government grants. This study aims to examine the features of alternative schemes that could complement the environment of Malaysian microfinance industry in order to ensure the industry's sustainability and also to help this industry achieve its ultimate goal of eradicating poverty. Therefore, the current study presents an emphasis on the characteristics of Local Exchange Trading System to fit in the purpose of microfinance services in Malaysia. Data are collected from primary sources, with a qualitative data collection being conducted through semi-structured interviews being conducted with clients and staffs of various microfinance institutions in Malaysia. Data is then analysed and triangulated with previous studies to make sense of the current issue with the study's proposed framework. With findings and discussions made throughout the study, a framework which could serve as an alternative scheme for microfinance industry in Malaysian is presented.