Microfinance, an Alternative for Financing Entrepreneurship: Implications and Trends-Bibliometric Analysis

Katherine Coronel-Pangol (), Doménica Heras-Tigre, Jonnathan Jiménez Yumbla, Juan Aguirre Quezada and Pedro Mora
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Katherine Coronel-Pangol: Department of Economics, Business and Sustainable Development, University of Cuenca, Cuenca 010150, Ecuador
Doménica Heras-Tigre: School of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Cuenca, Cuenca 010150, Ecuador
Jonnathan Jiménez Yumbla: Department of Economics, Business and Sustainable Development, University of Cuenca, Cuenca 010150, Ecuador
Juan Aguirre Quezada: Department of Economics, Business and Sustainable Development, University of Cuenca, Cuenca 010150, Ecuador
Pedro Mora: Department of Economics, Business and Sustainable Development, University of Cuenca, Cuenca 010150, Ecuador

IJFS, 2023, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Microfinance has become one of the most important financing alternatives for business start-ups, especially for vulnerable groups in poor regions. Microfinance provides access to financial products, especially to people who have been excluded from the traditional financial system. However, the mainstream literature on microfinance shows its impact on poverty alleviation, but it is not yet well developed to understand its dynamizing role in the entrepreneurial sector. There is still a large gap in the literature on analyzing microfinance as a financing alternative, so this paper seeks to find this relationship in the literature. A bibliometric analysis is applied, both of the performance of the publications and a word co-occurrence analysis during the period 2017–2022. The articles indexed in the Web of Science have been considered and systematized through the SCIMAT software v1.1.04, developed by the Soft Computing and Intelligent Information Systems Research Group, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Microfinance institutions, education, entrepreneurship, organizational performance, business microcredits, and women microentrepreneurs have been identified as driving themes to be considered in future analyses. At the end of the document, the proposed future lines of research are presented. In addition, the results show the growing interest of the academic community in the topic, with 2022 being the year with the highest number of articles published on the topic.

Keywords: microfinance; entrepreneurship; bibliometric analysis; co-occurrence; SCIMAT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F2 F3 F41 F42 G1 G2 G3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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