Introduction
I am a Professor of Global Development and Accountability at the Essex Business School. My research has moved away from arbitrary disciplinary constraints towards an interdisciplinary learning process to understand the global challenges, particularly in developing/emerging country contexts. Over the years, the research aims to understand, theorize and tackle the problems created by the uneven relationships between business, society and economy in an interdisciplinary framework. I have extensively worked in finance and development and microfinance. Currently, I am working on Fintech, financial inclusion, climate change and sustainability.
Expert
I have a sustained (25 years) and innovative contribution to global development and accountability in an inter-disciplinary learning process to understand the issues of sustainability and policies to develop sustainable societies. My research trajectory is to understand the uneven relationships in Finance and Development from a macro and micro perspective. The key themes of my research are (1) Political economy of Governance in the global south (organisations, Corporations, Accountability, CSR, Competency framework) (2) Social and environmental issues in accounting and business management (Sustainability, climate change, Gender) and (3) Sustainable financial institutions, Financial inclusion, micro financial services and fintech. My research on developing sustainable financial institutions explore the access and finance of those excluded from mainstream finance. I spent many years studying conceptual and empirical issues in microfinance. As a follow to of this, I examined the problems in providing financial products and services to individuals and businesses responsibly and sustainably, under the framework of financial inclusion. My findings have suggested the need for responsive regulatory frameworks, digital access to finance, voluntary exclusion, and consideration of behavioural constraints in financial inclusion programmes. Further to this, I also examine the role of financial services as risk coping mechanisms in different country contexts, particularly in determining the poor's risk management strategies.
Fields of expertise: Economic policy / inclusive economic development, Financing for inclusive development, Social innovation / public sector innovation / policy innovation, Sustainable Development Goals