IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/annpce/v96y2025i3p635-664.html

Unveiling the potential of community financing for entrepreneurs: A systematic review and research agenda

Author

Listed:
  • Samanwita Mishra
  • Chandan Kumar Sahoo

Abstract

Grassroots entrepreneurship catalyses economic revitalization, innovation and societal transformation. However, microentrepreneurs, especially women, often encounter amplified impediments to obtaining formal finance, hindering their growth. This study proposes a community‐based financing model, anchored in informal collectives, such as self‐help groups, that provides a conducive entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially for women entrepreneurs, by providing easy access to finance, market knowledge, social capital and capacity‐building support for entrepreneurial development. Despite the growing significance, research in this field is scarce. The present study addresses this gap by integrating bibliometric and systematic review employing the SPAR‐4SLR protocol. We analysed 180 Social Science Citation Index‐indexed articles published up to September 2024 using the Web of Science database. The present endeavour aims to construct a cognitive framework by conducting performance analysis and highlighting prominent themes using science mapping techniques. The seven identified (n = 59) themes include policy advocacy, women's empowerment, financial inclusion, digitalization, sustainable entrepreneurship, social capital, capacity building and socioeconomic impact assessment. Additionally, a TCCM framework utilized 74 highly esteemed articles and offered valuable insights into future research directions. Our findings call for empirical validation of community financing on entrepreneurial performance and sustainability, digital transformation and the realization of sustainable development goals. In conclusion, this study underscores community‐based entrepreneurship as a strategic framework for inclusive and sustainable economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Samanwita Mishra & Chandan Kumar Sahoo, 2025. "Unveiling the potential of community financing for entrepreneurs: A systematic review and research agenda," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(3), pages 635-664, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:96:y:2025:i:3:p:635-664
    DOI: 10.1111/apce.70009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.70009
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/apce.70009?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. Dean Karlan & Margaret McConnell & Sendhil Mullainathan & Jonathan Zinman, 2016. "Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(12), pages 3393-3411, December.
    2. Soluk, Jonas & Kammerlander, Nadine & Darwin, Solomon, 2021. "Digital entrepreneurship in developing countries: The role of institutional voids," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    4. Carinne Brody & Thomas de Hoop & Martina Vojtkova & Ruby Warnock & Megan Dunbar & Padmini Murthy & Shari L. Dworkin, 2017. "Can self-help group programs improve women’s empowerment? A systematic review," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 15-40, January.
    5. Shamsuddin Ahamad & Md. Aminul Islam & Mohd Faizal bin Yusof & Hamdan Amer Al‐Jaifi & Kizito Uyi Ehigiamusoe, 2024. "Relationship between microfinance institutions' self‐sustainability and financing sources: Moderating role of external governance," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(4), pages 971-1001, December.
    6. Lowicki-Zucca, Massimo & Walugembe, Patrick & Ogaba, Innocent & Langol, Saul, 2014. "Savings groups as a socioeconomic strategy to improve protection of moderately and critically vulnerable children in Uganda," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(P2), pages 176-181.
    7. Simba, Amon & Martins Ogundana, Oyedele & Braune, Eric & Dana, Léo–Paul, 2023. "Community financing in entrepreneurship: A focus on women entrepreneurs in the developing world," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    8. Lim, Weng Marc & Rasul, Tareq, 2022. "Customer engagement and social media: Revisiting the past to inform the future," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 325-342.
    9. Kast, Felipe & Meier, Stephan & Pomeranz, Dina, 2018. "Saving more in groups: Field experimental evidence from Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 275-294.
    10. Ranjula Bali Swain & Adel Varghese, 2013. "Delivery Mechanisms And Impact Of Microfinance Training In Indian Self‐Help Groups," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 11-21, January.
    11. Alfredo Burlando & Andrea Canidio & Rebekah Selby, 2021. "The Economics Of Savings Groups," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1569-1598, November.
    12. Ketki Sheth, 2021. "Delivering health insurance through informal financial groups: Evidence on moral hazard and adverse selection," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(9), pages 2185-2199, September.
    13. Anderson, Siwan & Baland, Jean-Marie & Moene, Karl Ove, 2009. "Enforcement in informal saving groups," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 14-23, September.
    14. Smriti Prasad & Manesh Choubey, 2023. "Factors influencing micro-entrepreneurship among women SHG members of Sikkim: a propensity score matching approach," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 51(6), pages 741-756, October.
    15. Luo, Yu & Peng, Yuchao & Zeng, Lianyun, 2021. "Digital financial capability and entrepreneurial performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 55-74.
    16. Xu, Xinhan & Chen, Xiangfeng & Jia, Fu & Brown, Steve & Gong, Yu & Xu, Yifan, 2018. "Supply chain finance: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 160-173.
    17. Swain, Ranjula Bali & Varghese, Adel, 2009. "Does Self Help Group Participation Lead to Asset Creation?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1674-1682, October.
    18. Kalyani Raghunathan & Neha Kumar & Shivani Gupta & Giang Thai & Samuel Scott & Avijit Choudhury & Madhu Khetan & Purnima Menon & Agnes Quisumbing, 2023. "Scale and Sustainability: The Impact of a Women’s Self-Help Group Program on Household Economic Well-Being in India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(4), pages 490-515, April.
    19. Todd W. Moss & Donald O. Neubaum & Moriah Meyskens, 2015. "The Effect of Virtuous and Entrepreneurial Orientations on Microfinance Lending and Repayment: A Signaling Theory Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(1), pages 27-52, January.
    20. Bach Nguyen & Nguyen Phuc Canh, 2021. "Formal and informal financing decisions of small businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1545-1567, October.
    21. Komivi Afawubo & Mawuli K. Couchoro & Messan Agbaglah & Tchapo Gbandi, 2020. "Mobile money adoption and households’ vulnerability to shocks: Evidence from Togo," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(10), pages 1141-1162, February.
    22. Simon Lewis, 2015. "Learning from Communities: The Local Dynamics of Formal and Informal Volunteering in Korogocho, Kenya," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(5), pages 69-82, September.
    23. Ksoll, Christopher & Lilleør, Helene Bie & Lønborg, Jonas Helth & Rasmussen, Ole Dahl, 2016. "Impact of Village Savings and Loan Associations: Evidence from a cluster randomized trial," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 70-85.
    24. Ashraf, Nava & Karlan, Dean & Yin, Wesley, 2010. "Female Empowerment: Impact of a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 333-344, March.
    25. Karlan, Dean & Zinman, Jonathan, 2018. "Price and control elasticities of demand for savings," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 145-159.
    26. Basu, Karna & Wong, Maisy, 2015. "Evaluating seasonal food storage and credit programs in east Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 200-216.
    27. Schoofs, Annekathrin, 2022. "Promoting financial inclusion for savings groups: A financial education programme in rural Rwanda," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    28. Burlando, Alfredo & Canidio, Andrea, 2017. "Does group inclusion hurt financial inclusion? Evidence from ultra-poor members of Ugandan savings groups," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 24-48.
    29. Sedai, Ashish Kumar & Vasudevan, Ramaa & Alves Pena, Anita, 2021. "Friends and benefits? Endogenous rotating savings and credit associations as alternative for women’s empowerment in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    30. Baland, Jean-Marie & Gangadharan, Lata & Maitra, Pushkar & Somanathan, Rohini, 2017. "Repayment and exclusion in a microfinance experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 176-190.
    31. Nava Ashraf & Dean Karlan & Wesley Yin, 2006. "Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence From a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 635-672.
    32. Ranjula Bali Swain & Fan Yang Wallentin, 2017. "The Impact of Microfinance on Factors Empowering Women: Differences in Regional and Delivery Mechanisms in India’s SHG Programme," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(5), pages 684-699, May.
    33. Kumar, Neha & Raghunathan, Kalyani & Arrieta, Alejandra & Jilani, Amir & Chakrabarti, Suman & Menon, Purnima & Quisumbing, Agnes R., 2019. "Social networks, mobility, and political participation: The potential for women’s self-help groups to improve access and use of public entitlement schemes in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 28-41.
    34. Priyanka Roy & Binoti Patro, 2025. "Effect of women's self‐help group participation on their financial inclusion measured through a women‐centric index: A study in North‐East India," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(1), pages 65-97, March.
    35. Martina K Linnenluecke & Mauricio Marrone & Abhay K Singh, 2020. "Conducting systematic literature reviews and bibliometric analyses," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 45(2), pages 175-194, May.
    36. le Polain, Maïté & Sterck, Olivier & Nyssens, Marthe, 2018. "Interest Rates in Savings Groups: Thrift or Threat?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 162-172.
    37. Sintayehu Hailu Alemu & Luuk Van Kempen & Ruerd Ruben, 2018. "Women Empowerment Through Self-Help Groups: The Bittersweet Fruits of Collective Apple Cultivation in Highland Ethiopia," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 308-330, July.
    38. Sarah Jacobson & Ragan Petrie, 2009. "Learning from mistakes: What do inconsistent choices over risk tell us?," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 143-158, April.
    39. Saroj Pravinchandra DHAKE & Sameer P. NARKHEDE, 2019. "INCOME‐GENERATING ACTIVITY: AN AVENUE TO IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SHGs," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 90(4), pages 737-759, December.
    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. Steinert, Janina Isabel & Vasumati Satish, Rucha & Stips, Felix & Vollmer, Sebastian, 2022. "Commitment or concealment? Impacts and use of a portable saving device: Evidence from a field experiment in urban India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 367-398.
    2. Gill-Wiehl, Annelise & Hubbard, Alan & Katikiro, Robert & Kammen, Daniel M. & Ray, Isha, 2025. "Experimental and ethnographic evidence on household-based lockboxes and savings nudges from rural Tanzania," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    3. Ranjula Bali Swain & Supriya Garikipati, 2019. "Microfinance in the Global South: Examining Evidence on Social Efficacy," Working Papers 201908, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    4. Olga Gorelkina & Ioanna Grypari & Erin Hengel, 2019. "One strike and you’re out! The Master Lever’s effect on senatorial policy-making," Working Papers 201906, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    5. Emma Bossuyt & Bert D’espallier & Roy Mersland, 2023. "Profit-Generating Entities or Cash-Management Vehicles? Unpacking the Financial Performance of Savings Groups Worldwide," Post-Print hal-05221042, HAL.
    6. Steinert, Janina Isabel & Cluver, Lucie Dale & Meinck, Franziska & Doubt, Jenny & Vollmer, Sebastian, 2018. "Household economic strengthening through financial and psychosocial programming: Evidence from a field experiment in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 443-466.
    7. Paul Christian & Steven Glover & Florence Kondylis & Valerie Mueller & Matteo Ruzzante & Astrid Zwager, 2022. "Do private consultants promote savings and investments in rural Mozambique?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(1), pages 22-36, January.
    8. Shivangi Bhatia & Seema Singh, 2019. "Empowering Women Through Financial Inclusion: A Study of Urban Slum," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 44(4), pages 182-197, December.
    9. Kast, Felipe & Meier, Stephan & Pomeranz, Dina, 2018. "Saving more in groups: Field experimental evidence from Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 275-294.
    10. Cassidy, Rachel & Fafchamps, Marcel, 2020. "Banker my neighbour: Matching and financial intermediation in savings groups," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    11. Supriya Garikipati & Rebecca J. Docherty & Penelope A. Phillips-Howard, 2019. "What’s the bleeding problem? Policy and attitudes towards sustainable menstrual hygiene materials in India," Working Papers 201907, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    12. Pilar López-Sánchez & Elena Urquía-Grande & Cristina Campo & Andrés L. Cancer, 2022. "Delving into the Determinants of Default Risk in Savings Groups: Empirical Evidence from Ecuador," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(6), pages 2625-2650, December.
    13. Banerjee, Abhijit & Claudia, Martínez A. & Puentes, Esteban, 2025. "Better strategies for saving more: Evidence from three interventions in Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    14. Heitzig, Chris & O’Keeffe-O’Donovan, Rossa, 2024. "Spillover Effects and Diffusion of Savings Groups," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    15. Andrieş, Alin Marius & Walker, Sarah, 2023. "When the message hurts: The unintended impacts of nudges on saving," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 439-456.
    16. Maslinawati Mohamad & Noor Raida Abd Rahman & Hairul Suhaimi Nahar & Coky Fauzi Alfi, 2023. "What Can We Glean from the Past Seven Decades of Voluntary Carbon Emissions Disclosure Research?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(5), pages 83-97, September.
    17. Steinert, Janina I. & Zenker, Juliane & Filipiak, Ute & Movsisyan, Ani & Cluver, Lucie D. & Shenderovich, Yulia, 2018. "Do saving promotion interventions increase household savings, consumption, and investments in Sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review and meta-analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 238-256.
    18. Shilpa Aggarwal & Valentina Brailovskaya & Jonathan Robinson, 2023. "Saving for Multiple Financial Needs: Evidence from Lockboxes and Mobile Money in Malawi," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(4), pages 833-851, July.
    19. Abubakar, Jamila & Aysan, Ahmet F. & Disli, Mustafa, 2025. "(Un)risky commitments," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    20. Zelu, Barbara Ama & Iranzo, Susana & Perez-Laborda, Alejandro, 2024. "Financial inclusion and women economic empowerment in Ghana," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).

    More about this item

    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:bla:annpce:v:96:y:2025:i:3:p:635-664. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1370-4788 .

    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.