IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/mgs/ijmsba/v8y2022i4p37-43.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Application of Information and Communications Technology in MFIs: Evidence from Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Md Tariqul Islam

    (Department of Finance and Banking, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Trishal, Mymensingh-2224, Bangladesh)

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the utilization pattern of ICT services by Bangladeshi microfinance institutions (MFIs). In so doing, this exploratory study interviews the staff of 10 prominent MFIs to underscore the ICT usage pattern of the organizations. The questions focused on the usage pattern of seven aspects of digital services such as website, ATM, e-cards and mobile financial services (MFS), smartphone use, MIS, customized software for different departments, and electronic mail and file management system. The results reveal that all the organizations maintain websites and use smartphones for internal and external communications, while none incorporated the services of ATM, debit, or credit cards. Moreover, it finds that only 20 percent of the MFIs included MFS to facilitate transactions and an identical proportion of institutions have electronic mail and e-file management services for their office management. It also claims that employing management information systems (MIS) and using customized software accounts for 20% and 40%, respectively. Therefore, policymakers and microfinance organization should take the necessary steps to foster the use of digital services in the business process so that costs can be minimized to attain the principles of outreach and sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Md Tariqul Islam, 2022. "Application of Information and Communications Technology in MFIs: Evidence from Bangladesh," International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 8(4), pages 37-43, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:mgs:ijmsba:v:8:y:2022:i:4:p:37-43
    DOI: 10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.84.1004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://researchleap.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/04_Application_of_Information_and_Communications_Technology.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://researchleap.com/application-of-information-and-communications-technology-in-mfis-evidence-from-bangladesh/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.84.1004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gautam Ivatury, 2009. "Using Technology to Build Inclusive Financial Systems," Springer Books, in: J. D. Pischke & Ingrid Matthäus-Maier (ed.), New Partnerships for Innovation in Microfinance, pages 140-164, Springer.
    2. Tadele, Haileslasie & Roberts, Helen & Whiting, Rosalind H., 2018. "Microfinance institutions' website accessibility," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 279-293.
    3. Hermes, Niels & Lensink, Robert & Meesters, Aljar, 2011. "Outreach and Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 938-948, June.
    4. Maxime LEBOVICS & Niels HERMES & Marek HUDON, 2016. "Are Financial And Social Efficiency Mutually Exclusive? A Case Study Of Vietnamese Microfinance Institutions," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(1), pages 55-77, December.
    5. Dorfleitner, Gregor & Nguyen, Quynh Anh & Röhe, Michaela, 2019. "Microfinance institutions and the provision of mobile financial services: First empirical evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fall, François & Akim, Al-mouksit & Wassongma, Harouna, 2018. "DEA and SFA research on the efficiency of microfinance institutions: A meta-analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 176-188.
    2. Wijesiri, Mahinda & Yaron, Jacob & Meoli, Michele, 2017. "Assessing the financial and outreach efficiency of microfinance institutions: Do age and size matter?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 63-76.
    3. Niels Hermes & Marek Hudon, 2018. "Determinants Of The Performance Of Microfinance Institutions: A Systematic Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(5), pages 1483-1513, December.
    4. Hailu Abebe Wondirad, 2020. "Competition and microfinance institutions’ performance: evidence from India," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Patrick Reichert, 2018. "A meta-analysis examining the nature of trade-offs in microfinance," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 430-452, July.
    6. Ana Paula Matias Gama & Ricardo Emanuel Correia & Mário Augusto & Fábio Duarte, 2023. "Third-party signals in crowdfunded microfinance: which microfinance institutions boost crowdfunding among refugee entrepreneurs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 559-586, August.
    7. Liu, Aiping & Urquía-Grande, Elena & López-Sánchez, Pilar & Rodríguez-López, Ángel, 2023. "Research into microfinance and ICTs: A bibliometric analysis," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Mahinda Wijesiri & Almudena Martínez-Campillo & Peter Wanke, 2019. "Is there a trade-off between social and financial performance of public commercial banks in India? A multi-activity DEA model with shared inputs and undesirable outputs," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 417-442, April.
    9. Arpita Sharma & Shailesh Rastogi, 2021. "Impact of Efficiency on Voluntary Disclosure of Non-Banking Financial Company—Microfinance Institutions in India," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, June.
    10. Hermes, Cornelis & Hudon, M., 2018. "Determinants of the Performance of Microfinance Institutions: A Systematic Review," Research Report 2018008, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    11. Swati Chauhan, 2021. "Social and Financial Efficiency: A Study of Indian Microfinance Institutions," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 10(1), pages 31-43, January.
    12. Wijesiri, Mahinda & Viganò, Laura & Meoli, Michele, 2015. "Efficiency of microfinance institutions in Sri Lanka: a two-stage double bootstrap DEA approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 74-83.
    13. Delaram Najmaei Lonbani & Bram De Rock, 2020. "The performance of microfinance institutions: An analysis of the local and legal constraints," Working Papers CEB 20-011, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    14. Li, Lin Yang & Hermes, Niels & Meesters, Aljar, 2019. "Convergence of the performance of microfinance institutions: A decomposition analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 308-324.
    15. Gregor Dorfleitner & Davide Forcella & Quynh Anh Nguyen, 2021. "Why microfinance institutions go digital: An empirical analysis," Working Papers CEB 21-003, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    16. Wijesiri, Mahinda & Yaron, Jacob & Meoli, Michele, 2015. "Performance of microfinance institutions in achieving the poverty outreach and financial sustainability: When age and size matter?," MPRA Paper 69821, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Dorfleitner, Gregor & Nguyen, Quynh Anh & Röhe, Michaela, 2019. "Microfinance institutions and the provision of mobile financial services: First empirical evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    18. Junyon Im & Sunny Sun, 2015. "Profits and outreach to the poor: The institutional logics of microfinance institutions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 95-117, March.
    19. Hailu Abebe Wondirad, 2022. "Interest rates in microfinance: What is a fair interest rate when we lend to the poor?," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4537-4548, December.
    20. Debdatta Pal & Subrata K. Mitra, 2018. "The efficiency of microfinance institutions with problem loans: A directional distance function approach," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 285-307, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    MFIs; ICT services; Outreach; Sustainability; Bangladesh;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M00 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - General - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:mgs:ijmsba:v:8:y:2022:i:4:p:37-43. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bojan Obrenovic (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://researchleap.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.