Microbusinesses, Microfinance, and Poverty Alleviation in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Studying the impact of microbusinesses on poverty alleviation, this study considers the moderating and mediating roles played by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, and microfinance. Participants in the study, numbering around 384, were chosen to be representative of the populations of Multan, Bahawalpur, and D.G. Khan in the Pakistani state of Punjab. Based on our primary data analysis with SPSS, we conclude that microbusinesses have a positive and significant influence on reducing poverty, microfinance also has a positive and significant influence on reducing poverty, and microbusinesses have a positive and significant influence on microfinance. At first, microbusinesses have a positive and significant effect on reducing poverty, and the significance of this link becomes apparent when we cooperate with the government in a moderating capacity. At the outset of the study, microbusinesses were found to have a positive and substantial effect on reducing poverty; however, when the NGO's moderating role was considered, a negative and significant effect was found. Microbusiness expansion has been linked to a statistically significant reduction in poverty levels.