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Social innovation and social entrepreneurship were rarely discussed till the 19th century. However, the topic has been in the limelight extensively since 1950. Moreover, the linkage between social innovation and social entrepreneurship still needs to be explored, especially in developing sides of the world where social entrepreneurship is required to optimize social and economic parameters. In fact, there is a severe increase in the level of opportunities for social entrepreneurship. The increase in the level of opportunities is massive, especially due to globalization. Therefore, this chapter has been written purposefully to reflect the role of social entrepreneurship with examples and opportunities for social entrepreneurship with reference to the developing sides of the world. © 2023, IGI Global. All rights reserved.
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The rapid spread of Covid-19 transmission has led the world to take measures to stop the outbreak. Every country is currently starting to vaccinate its own population as a way to prevent the virus. Including Indonesia which is in full force on implementing the program of giving free vaccination to its citizens gradually. Registration for free vaccination is done digitally, where the government has taken steps so people can make the best use of the program. Seeing this, researchers are interested in analyzing how the implementation of digitization in Covid 19 vaccination registration is where the research method used is de-scriptive qualitative by taking on the data from reference articles and field observations. Subsequent research found that Indonesian people are familiar with various media application such as WhatsApp or Short Message Service (SMS). With clear and easy to understand flow in Covid 19 vaccine registration application, the public will not be confused in participating in programs promoted by the government. © 2023 Author(s).
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INTRODUCTION: Cluster-associated transmission has contributed to the majority of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. Although widely used, the performance of the World Health Organization (WHO) case definition for suspected COVID19 in environments with high numbers of such cases has not been reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All suspected cases of COVID-19 that self-presented to hospitals or were cluster screened from 1st April to 31st May 2020 were included. Positive SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR was used as the diagnostic reference for COVID-19. RESULTS: 540 individuals with suspected COVID-19 were recruited. Two-third of patients were identified through contact screening, while the rest presented sporadically. Overall COVID-19 positivity rate was 59.4% (321/540) which was higher in the cluster screened group (85.6% vs. 11.6%, p<0.001). Overall, cluster-screened COVID-19 cases were significantly younger, had fewer comorbidities and were less likely to be symptomatic than those present sporadically. Mortality was significantly lower in the cluster-screened COVID-19 cases (0.3% vs. 4.5%, p<0.05). A third of all chest radiographs in confirmed COVID-19 cases were abnormal, with consolidation, ground-glass opacities or both predominating in the peripheral lower zones. The WHO suspected case definition for COVID-19 accurately classified 35.4% of all COVID-19 patients, a rate not improved by the addition of baseline radiographic data. Misclassification rate was higher among the cluster-associated cases (80.6%) compared to sporadic cases (35.3%). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 cases in Malaysia identified by active tracing of community cluster outbreaks had lower mortality rate. The WHO suspected COVID-19 performed poorly in this setting even when chest radiographic information was available, a finding that has implications for future spikes of the disease in countries with similar transmission characteristics.
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COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humans , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , Malaysia/epidemiology , COVID-19 Testing , Disease OutbreaksABSTRACT
Pakistan is going through a period of transition after Covid-19 pandemic situation which created a dire need to use computer as a tool and other online resources in the classrooms. To contribute to this situation, the present study investigated the effects of using computer as a tool and Penzu software as online source for language instructions. The study used experimental design and conducted a classroom experiment of 40 higher secondary school students ( 20 experimental & 20 in control group) through pre/post-tests over different period of time to examine development in students' writing skills. On post-test-I, it was observed that students in the control group showed sudden rise in the development of writing skills compared to experimental group. But, on post-test-II and III, students in the experimental group showed consistency in the development in writing skills while control group could not maintain their consistency of development in writings. Hence, findings of the study revealed that using computer as a tool for instructions and Penzu as online resource to conduct writing activities proved more useful in improving students' writing skills compared to the students in the control group. Finally, findings also revealed that students became more independent in self-corrections in the experimental group and continued to expand their learning outside the classroom while control group was dependent on teacher and could only find time in the classroom for corrective feedback which limited students' learning to their classroom. In addition to this, the study recommends that further computer applications and other online resources can be more useful in language instructions apart from teaching writing skills. Besides, findings of this study have significant theoretical and practical implications pertaining to EFL teachers' professional development, teaching skills and students' learning environment.
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Post-Covid-19 pandemic situation has created a dire need to use computer in the instructional methodology synchronising with other online resources in the classrooms. The present study was conducted to examine the effects of using computer synchronised by Penzu software as online source for teaching English to the higher secondary school students in Punjab, Pakistan. The study used experimental design and conducted a classroom experiment of 40 higher secondary school students (20 experimental & 20 in control group) through pre/post-tests over different period of time to examine development in students' writing skills. On post-test-I, it was observed that students in the control group showed sudden rise in the development of writing skills compared to experimental group. But, on post-test-II and III, students in the experimental group showed consistency in the development in writing skills while control group could not maintain their consistency of development in writings. Hence, findings of the study revealed that using computer as a tool for instructions and Penzu as online resource to conduct writing activities proved more useful in improving students' writing skills compared to the students in the control group. Finally, findings also revealed that students became more independent in self-corrections in the experimental group and continued to expand their learning outside the classroom while control group was dependent on teacher and could only find time in the classroom for corrective feedback which limited students' learning to their classroom. In addition to this, the study recommends that further computer applications and other online resources can be more useful in language instructions apart from teaching writing skills. Besides, findings of this study have significant theoretical and practical implications pertaining to EFL teachers' professional development, teaching skills and students' learning environment.
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Deep learning and machine learning are becoming more extensively adopted artificial intelligence techniques for machine vision problems in everyday life, giving rise to new capabilities in every sector of technology. It has a wide range of applications, ranging from autonomous driving to medical and health monitoring. For image detection, the best reported approach is the you only look once (YOLO) algorithm, which is the faster and more accurate version of the convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm. In the healthcare domain, YOLO can be applied for checking the face mask wearing of the people, especially in a public area or before entering any closed space such as a building to avoid the spread of the air-borne disease such as COVID-19. The main challenges are the image datasets, which are unstructured and may grow large, affecting the accuracy and speed of the detection. Secondly is the portability of the detection devices, which are generally dependent on the more portable like NVDIA Jetson Nano or from the existing computer/laptop. Using the low-power NVDIA Jetson Nano system as well as NVDIA giga texel shader extreme (GTX), this paper aims to design and implement real-time face mask wearing detection using the pretrained dataset as well as the real-time data. © 2023, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.
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Background: The therapeutic effectiveness of interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor in critically ill hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is uncertain. Methods: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the outcome as recovery or death of tocilizumab for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial in critically ill COVID-19 adult patients. The patients were randomly assigned in a 4:1 ratio to receive standard medical treatment plus the recommended dose of either tocilizumab or the placebo drug. Randomization was stratified. The primary outcome was the recovery or death after administration of tocilizumab or a placebo drug. The secondary outcomes were clinical recovery or worsening of the patients' symptoms and inflammatory markers and discharge from the hospital. Results: Of 190 patients included in this study, 152 received tocilizumab, and 38 received a placebo. The duration of hospital stay of the interventional group was 12.9 ± 9.2, while the placebo group had a more extended hospital stay (15.6 ± 8.8). The mortality ratio for the primary outcome, ie, mortality or recovery in the tocilizumab group was 17.8%;p = 0.58 by log-rank test). The mortality ratio in the placebo group was 76.3%;p = 0.32 by log-rank test). The inflammatory markers in the tocilizumab group significantly declined by day 16 compared to the placebo group. Conclusions: The use of tocilizumab was associated with decreased mortality, earlier improvement of inflammatory markers, and reduced hospital stay in patients with severe COVID-19. © 2022 The Author(s)
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The emerging and re-emergence of viral outbreaks in the history of mankind has always pose severe global intimidation to public health and economy. The debilitating effects of 2019-nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus) outbreak has swiftly spread worldwide due to its highly contagious nature with severe risk of respiratory tract infections and higher mortality rate, necessitating the urgent need for the production of effective vaccine and potential therapeutic agents. The active evolution of SARS-CoV-2 strain in different population and environment strive immense challenge against anti-viral therapeutic development based on viral pathogenicity. The potential FDA drugs are evaluated based on their known safety and efficacy with exceptional pharmacokinetic profiles for the treatment of nCoV-2019. Existing knowledge related to MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV epidemic has provided a better understanding to explore purposeful therapeutics strategies against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To limited extend, the ongoing promising and hopeful treatments includes convalescent plasma therapy, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, ACE inhibitors, TMPRSS2 inhibitors, hydroxychloroquine, interferon, ribavirin, tocilizumab, and corticosteroids however clinical efficacy of some of them need to be validated in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The global struggle to make a protected and successful Coronavirus immunization is finally proving to be fruitful. Although challenges such as strain variation resistant, possible side effects, adequate supply of vaccines to all countries and limited availability of second dose still diverting the option of possible efficacious therapeutics strategies to work alongside with vaccine development with improved efficacy and safety profile. This review is focused on the potential advancement in therapeutic approaches with possible repurposing of the available drugs and explores the current status of available vaccines with hope that these strategies found to be cogent in controlling SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. © 2022, The Running Line. All rights reserved.
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The battle against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is the focal point for the global pandemic that has affected millions of lives worldwide. The need for effective and selective therapeutics for the treatment of the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 is critical. Herein, we performed a hierarchical computational approach incorporating molecular docking studies, molecular dynamics simulations, absolute binding energy calculations, and steered molecular dynamics simulations for the discovery of potential compounds with high affinity towards SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD. By leveraging ZINC15 database, a total of 1282 in-clinical and FDA approved drugs were filtered out from nearly 0.5 million protomers of relatively large compounds (MW > 500, and LogP ≤ 5). Our results depict plausible mechanistic aspects related to the blockage of SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD by the top hits discovered. We found that the most promising candidates, namely, ZINC95628821, ZINC95617623, ZINC3979524, and ZINC261494658, strongly bind to the spike RBD and interfere with the human ACE2 receptor. These findings accelerate the rational design of selective inhibitors targeting the spike RBD protein of SARS-CoV-2.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Introduction: Anosmia has been increasingly recognized as one of the most important clinical symptom to be screened for the COVID-19 Objective: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of anosmia and its association with COVID-19 risk level among staff in a higher education institution in Malaysia. Method(s): The data was obtained from COVID-19 risk assessment system implemented in the institution within four-month surveillance period from May to September 2020. The risk level was categorised into three levels namely low, moderate, and high depending on the staff reported symptoms and presence of epidemiological link. Pearson Chi Square analysis and Binary Logistic Regression were applied to assess possible association between anosmia and COVID-19 risk level. Result(s): A total of 1787 staff were involved in the analysis;1455 (81.4%) were categorized as low risk, 316 (17.7%) were medium risk and 16 (0.9%) were at high risk of contracting COVID-19. Out of 1787, 65 (3.6%) staff presented with anosmia. There was a statistically significant association between anosmia and COVID-19 risk level. Those with anosmia were 8.31 times more likely to be categorised under higher risk group (medium and high risk) compared to those without anosmia (Odds Ratio (OR): 8.31, beta =2.117, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 4.94-13.99, p < 0.001). Conclusion(s): The COVID-19 risk assessment system is proven to be valid as it demonstrated anosmia association with higher COVID-19 risk level which is consistent the current epidemiological evidence on anosmia. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly evolved in the last couple of years. This has created major havoc and concern because it has affected millions of people around the world. The new variants of covid-19 are classified into two types, VOI (variant of interest) and VOC (variant of concern). The major variants of concern (VOCs) have shared mutations in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The spike proteins of the novel coronavirus located mostly on the S1 unit result in a higher transmissibility rate and affect the viral virulence and clinical outcome. The spike protein and other non-structural protein mutations in VOCs may lead to escape the approved vaccinations. Here the VOC mutations i.e., OMICRON VARIANT have been discussed in detail, and the therapeutic strategies to enhance the host immune responses have been proposed. Additionally, a computational approach is proposed to design the drug and vaccine for the variant. The protein structure for the OMICRON variant has been predicted through bioinformatics tools and several databases have been used to identify suitable natural inhibitors. The OMICRON variant was analyzed to identify suitable vaccine candidates by identifying B-Cell epitopes. To design a drug, REPAGLINIDE and ENT-NATEGLINIDE were identified as natural inhibitors based on docking score. To design a vaccine the B-cell epitope i.e., CLIGAEYVNNSYECD was found to the highest antigenicity score. The present study identifies natural inhibitors and potential antigenic Epitopes which may be used as effective drug and vaccine candidates to suppress the novel coronavirus. Copyright 2023 by the authors. Licensee Zoological Society of Pakistan.
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Unconditional self-acceptance (USA) is important for mental health. Studies reported that university students would develop the USA when they feel socially supported, included, and matter. Nevertheless, those factors are dependent on social feedbacks. Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak is, they had to follow the social distancing protocols and interact online with each other. This change might have altered the way they perceive the social support and mattering. It is hypothesized that these alterations predicted their USA through their perceived social support (PSS) and the sense of social inclusion (state self-esteem). To test the hypothesis, 214 young adults (85 men, 129 women), aged between 18 to 25 (M=22.80, SD=1.92) were asked to complete a demographic form and the scales of each variable. Students from University X, Malaysia were chosen as the population as they studied fully online when we started this study;unfortunately, the university went back to physical study before we managed to collect our target sample size. The results of Bootstrapping with 5,000 samples and 95% confidence interval showed that state self-esteem (SSE) fully mediated the relationship between mattering and USA, while PSS did not. Therefore, the hypothesis of serial mediation was not supported. © 2023, Intelektual Pustaka Media Utama. All rights reserved.
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Ultraviolet (UV) light radiation is very dangerous as it can irritate human skin and eyes in which long and direct exposure can lead to skin and eyes cancer. However, Ultraviolet C (UVC) light with a wavelength between 207nm-222nm could sanitize in which inactivate the bacteria such as superbug (the pathogen that already built immunity against chemical sanitizer) and contribute to the fight against Covid-19 viruses. Therefore, this development of UV sanitizer is to sanitize surface area effectively with a human alert system in which will activate the buzzer, turn off the UV light and stop moving when human motion is detected. The notification also will be sent to the user whenever a human motion is detected as a 360° sanitization area to inactivate pathogens. The precaution to avoid any accident. The device is equipped with one UVC light which provides, the body has ultrasonic sensors to detect obstacles and provide autonomous movement to the device while the PIR sensor is used to detect human motion and activate the human alert system. As the result, the UVC light effectiveness is determined based on the bacteria growth in the petri dish. After the sanitization process, the bacteria are significantly reduced and killed effectively in low areas such as floors but reduce their efficiency to the high area. Thus, this device is time efficient and able to reduce the cost of sanitization compared to chemical sanitizer. © 2022 IEEE.
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Various measures were introduced globally to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including travel restrictions, social distancing, and closure of educational establishments. Implementing these measures resulted in appreciable changes to health professions’ education (HPE) with concerns regarding the level of preparedness among faculty members and students towards e-learning, including laboratory, clinical, and other forms of hands-on training. In addition, the affordability of devices and Internet bundles arose, especially among students in low and middle-income countries. A pilot qualitative study was conducted in Malaysia to ascertain critical challenges and how higher learning establishments addressed them. The study was undertaken among 10 purposely selected educators in both public and private universities in Malaysia using an established questionnaire to ascertain critical challenges and responses. The main issues included unfamiliarity with e-learning approaches and inadequate availability of devices and Internet bundles among students. Furthermore, the study revealed a lack of interaction between faculty members and students, concerns with conducting practicals and clinical examinations, and mental distress among faculty members. Measures introduced to address concerns included supporting digital needs through the provision of software, devices, and Internet bundles, enhanced training of educators in e-learning approaches, providing clinical case banks and curated patient data, and establishing clear policies and procedures for classroom and clinical teaching. Psychological support, including stress management, was also provided. The challenges and lessons learned in Malaysia regarding HPE during the pandemic were similar to other countries with hybrid learning here to stay. © 2022 Ambigga Krishnapillai et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Objective: Vaccination is an effective strategy to reduce the burden of COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of acceptance rate towards COVID-19 vaccine among Malaysians. Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed to 599 respondents via convenience method among Malaysians aged 18 years and above. Results: Out of 599, acceptance rate was 89.2% with majority of the respondents were female (68.4%), aged between 20 to 29 and 30 to 39 years (30.2%), married (57.4%), Muslim (61.1%), Selangor residence (34.3%), bachelor's holder (63.3%), nonhealth worker (53.1%), and healthy individuals (59.9%). The most likely reason for refusal of taking COVID-19 vaccine was due to the long-term effect of vaccine (49.6%), gender (p = 0.017) and occupation (p = 0.038) of the respondents were found to be significantly associated with the likelihood of taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Discussion: Despite the high acceptance rate, it is still vital to address concerns among the vaccine's sceptics by establishing faith in the vaccine's safety and effectiveness through proper vaccine information. Conclusion: The findings showed that Malaysians have a high level of acceptance for the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Purpose: This research aimed to ascertain the people's economic progress throughout the pandemic via the distribution of productive zakat by BAZ/LAZ in Pekalongan. Theoretical Framework: Zakat has evolved as a tool for economic growth and poverty reduction among the peoples of the regions during times of economic distress (Yusroni & Chadhiq, 2021). Zakat provides several benefits over the standard fiscal tools now available. Numerous ideas and theories have been advanced by specialists to address the issue of poverty (Alaro & Alalubosa, 2019;Iqbal & Mirakhor, 2011). However, not all ideas can be implemented and contribute to poverty reduction. It is anticipated that professional zakat administration and profitable usage would enable poverty reduction (Hoque, Khan, & Mohammad, 2015). Design/Methodology/Approach: Field research with a qualitative approach collects, manages, and distributes zakat funds, incredibly productive zakat at BAZ/LAZ in Pekalongan City. The technique is triangulation. Findings: The results showed that BAZ/LAZ in Pekalongan City had implemented effective zakat distribution programs, namely BAZNAS, LAZ Al Ummah, LAZISMU, and LAZ Central Java, while LAZINU had not implemented the effective zakat program optimally. In general, BAZ/LAZ in Pekalongan City used productive zakat to promote the potential of the people via various sorts of productive zakat initiatives throughout the pandemic. The primary objective of productive zakat is similar to that of BAZ/LAZ in Pekalongan City. According to defined protocols, the productive zakat distribution model is carried out precisely and accurately. Research, Practical & Social Implications: Despite several challenges, the distribution of productive zakat continued throughout the COVID-19 epidemic. The effective zakat program emphasizes developing diverse models via creativity and innovation for people's economic growth to avoid poverty. Originality/Value: The findings of the model of economic development of the people run by the mustahik also vary in the efforts carried out whose main objectives are to save, infaq, and develop businesses to avoid the problem of poverty. © 2022 The authors.
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Introduction: COVID-19 the deadly virus, was declared a pandemic by WHO in March, 2020 because of its virulent nature. It has been a piece of work to understand the mechanism of action and the disease pathology of the virus, due to its novel origin. The quality of healthcare is seen to be severely degrading during these times. The two different types of COVID tests that are commonly available in the facility are RTPCR and Rapid Antigen Test or RAT. These help to identify whether the person is infected with the virus or not. With the current management being successful in majority of the cases, we should also consider strengthening the existing modalities. Objective: To find the prevalence of COVID-19 patients and study their clinical course and outcome Material and methods: Data regarding covid-19 patients was collected on basis of demographic profile by using google foms questionnaire at Dr. D.Y. Patil Hospital, Navi Mumbai. Results: A total of 500 patients were included in the present study with male preponderance with 61.4%. 99% patients were tested COVID positive, 73.2% had a history of exposure to COVID patients, 80% had a positive travel history, 99% lab tests were positive. 50.4% duration of the treatment lasted for 7-14 days. 67.6% were treated in the wards, whereas, the remaining 32.4% were treated in the ICU. 19.6% patients required mechanical ventilator support. 51% patients required oxygen therapy. 80.2% did not require intubation. All the patients were on antibiotics, and majority of the patients, i.e. 99.8% were on immuno-boosters as well. Antivirals were administered in 80.6%. 82.8% were discharged with a negative swab. Out of the 17.2% patients with positive swab, mortality was seen in 6.2% patients. 3.4% patients were referred to different centers, while the treatment of the remaining 7.6% patients was continued for a longer period of time. Conclusion: A stepwise perspective of non-pharmaceutical interventions, screening and testing procedures, implementation and compliance to distancing, hygiene measures and use of masks at airports, railway stations, other public places with pragmatic testing and tracing are effective measures that can be implemented. Worldwide numerous clinical trials are taking place for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Although, there is a rapid comprehensive expansion in regard to COVID-19 and few agents appear to be promising, there are no definitely proven effective therapies at this time. Evaluation of several agents by Scientists and researchers are progressive and commendable.
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Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus that becomes world pandemic with 200 countries recorded affected, and nearly 1 million people died. Starting from Wuhan in December 2019, within three months, the spread across global with high reproduction rates (R Rates). There is evidence in one case, it spread to more than 100 people and creates his pandemic cluster. As the pandemic contributes to a large volume of data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics (BDA) play a huge role in understanding the pan-demic to help necessary action can be deployed. Researchers and developers are increasingly using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing to track and contain coronavirus and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the disease. So far, due to new diseases, there is a limited study to cover how AI and BDA will help in fighting COVID-19. Therefore, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the existing and potential of using AI and BDA to manage the COVID-19 outbreak based on COVID-19 Outbreak Life Cycle phases;detection, spread, management, recovery. We also presented the challenges needed to be overcome for BI in BDA in the fighting. To conclude, these findings show the necessity of AI and BDA as a critical tool to understand COVID-19 and there a lot of ongoing intensive works have been carried out to cope with COVID-19. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Purpose The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments all over the globe to bring radical changes to all walks of life. Strict lockdowns are not only adversely affecting the social, economic, and psychological wellbeing of individuals but also questioning the sustainability of most businesses. In wake of the current scenario, this study is aimed at exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing the sustainability of entrepreneurship particularly from a female perspective and further providing insights into the role of Islamic financial institutions in the sustainability of businesses during COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study that takes social constructivism approach to study the underlying phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews are conducted to collect primary data. Secondary data are also utilized in this study to theoretically define various concepts relating to entrepreneurial sustainability. The application of thematic analysis revealed various risks associated with sustainability. The interviews reveal the ground realities and tell us about the hardships being faced by the entrepreneurs due to ongoing crises. The participants of the study also shed light on the role of Islamic financial institutions during the pandemic. Findings The study results revealed that it may look impossible for women entrepreneurs to halt or avoid the adverse consequences of the pandemic;however, a few female entrepreneurs strived to guard their existing portfolios with the help of Islamic microfinance institutions. Whereas, several women, especially those running home-based businesses, lost their income streams. Despite these rapid challenges, most female entrepreneurs are working on inventive online systems to sustain their business activities during the crisis. Finally, guidelines are suggested which can help achieve sustainability of the entrepreneurial startups. Research limitations/implications The outcomes of this study are expedient for funding agencies, government authorities and Islamic financial institutions as well as for non-government institutions to establish sustainable and broader policies for women to become successful entrepreneurs during severe disasters like COVID-19. Moreover, the study is a helpful tool for women entrepreneurs to avert the worst impact of the pandemic with the help of Islamic microfinance institutions. The themes of this study help generate realistic information to appraise the strategies to create facilitating business environments that drive the women to carry out the entrepreneurial activity during any crisis like the COVID-19. Practical implications The results of this study provide evidence that crisis can be anticipated up to some extent if entrepreneurs become able to take proactive decisions in case of expected or identifiable threats. The study may also help the women entrepreneurs to comprehend the serious consequences of the pandemic by shifting their mode of financing to Islamic finance. Although this pandemic is a cause of physical discomfort instead this research may encourage the female entrepreneurs not to lose heart, just find the potential opportunities for their home-based and small businesses and manage funding from the Islamic microfinance institutions. Originality/value The study adds to the existing literature on entrepreneurial sustainability with a particular focus on the role of Islamic microfinance institutions for women entrepreneurs' sustainability in Pakistan. Secondly, the study employs the entrepreneurial sustainability model (ESM) that, according to the best of our knowledge, has not been used by the researchers earlier to study the given research phenomenon. Thirdly, the study findings are expedient for funding agencies, government authorities and financial institutions as well as for non-government institutions to establish sustainable and broader policies for women to become successful entrepreneurs during disasters like COVID-19.