Women, Finance, and Growth: Evidence from the DanaNITA Financial Program

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-715-6_37How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Financial Assistance; Business Performance; Resource-Based View; Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Access to financing continues to pose significant challenges for women entrepreneurs, particularly in developing countries. In response, the DanaNITA program by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) was established to support Bumiputera women entrepreneurs through targeted financial assistance aimed at improving business performance and household income. This study examines the effectiveness of DanaNITA program using quantitative method from 207 women entrepreneurs across various business sectors in Malaysia. Data was collected through a structured survey to compare key business indicators—such as sales, profit, employment, and household income—before and after receiving the financing. The study is guided by the Resource-Based View, which positions financial capital as a valuable external resource that can enhance internal business capabilities. The findings indicate positive changes in several areas of business performance, including profit, employment, and household income, following the receipt of DanaNITA financing. However, improvements in sales performance were more varied, suggesting the need for additional support mechanisms beyond funding alone. This research offers practical insights for policymakers and program designers, emphasising the need for complementary support services such as marketing assistance and advisory guidance alongside financial aid. It also contributes to the broader discourse on inclusive entrepreneurship and provides a foundation for strengthening women-targeted financial programs in Malaysia and beyond.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Suhaily Mohd-Ramly
AU  - Nurhidayah Rosely
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/20
TI  - Women, Finance, and Growth: Evidence from the DanaNITA Financial Program
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Cross- Disciplinary Academic Research 2025 - Track 2 Advances in Business & Economics, Social Science, Communications & Media (ICAR-T2 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 500
EP  - 509
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-715-6_37
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-715-6_37
ID  - Mohd-Ramly2026
ER  -