Despite its leading role in the urban transport system, paratransit is accused of being unsustainable and hostile to modernity. The reform of the sector is necessary in the context of the modernization of the transport system of African cities. It requires the formalization of actors through technical and financial support such as fleet renewal projects. This article attempts to analyze the financing process and the level of formalism of the operators constituted within the AFTU in the context of the financing operation of paratransit operators in Dakar, Senegal. The methodological approach adopted is based on the analysis of qualitative data from questionnaire surveys carried out in the AFTU network in Dakar; official documents¹ were also used. The results show that the Dakar financing model put in place has made it possible to make significant progress in the reorganization of paratransit professionals. In addition to the concessioned lines, a salaried system was introduced, pricing is now official and the standardized ticketing system has been put in place. Nevertheless, improvements are expected on the working conditions of employees, the capacity building of actors and the evolution of the legal status of companies.

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation on the performance of SMEs. This research explores the wood waste industry in Ngawi, an area that has never been studied before, thus providing a new perspective and unique local relevance. These findings underscore the critical role of entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation in driving sustainable business growth and improving SME performance. The results show that both entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation having a positive and significant link with SMEs performance. Further, the study reveals that the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and green innovation having a positive and significant link with SMEs performance mediated by knowledge-sahring. The study also highlights the importance of larger sample sizes, and external factors to provide more comprehensive insights for practitioners and policymakers.

This study examined the role of cryptocurrencies in tourism and their acceptance across EU regions, with particular attention to the digital transformation precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis focuses on the relationship between cryptocurrency acceptance points and the intensity of tourism, highlighting that the acceptance of cryptocurrencies is significantly correlated with tourism services. The literature review highlighted that Web 3.0, especially blockchain technology and decentralized applications, opens new possibilities in tourism, including secure and transparent transactions, and more personalized travel experiences. The research investigated cryptocurrency acceptance points and the intensity of tourism within the EU. The study illuminates that the acceptance of cryptocurrencies significantly correlates with tourism services. The data and methodology demonstrated the analysis methods for examining the relationship between cryptocurrency acceptance points and tourism intensity, including the use of clustering neural networks and Eurostat data utilization. The results showed a positive correlation between the number of cryptocurrency acceptance points and tourism intensity in the EU, affirming the research hypothesis. According to the regression analysis results, each additional cryptocurrency acceptance point is associated with an increase in tourism intensity. The significance of the research lies in highlighting the growing role of digital payment solutions, especially cryptocurrencies, in tourism, and their potential impacts on the EU economy. The analysis supports that the intertwining of tourism and digital financial technologies opens new opportunities in the sector for both providers and tourists.

With the increasing climate change crisis, the ongoing global energy security challenges, and the prerequisites for the development of sustainable and affordable energy for all, the need for renewable energy resources has been highlighted as a global aim of mankind. However, the worldwide deployment of renewable energy calls for large-scale financial and technological contributions which many States cannot afford. This exacerbates the need for the promotion of foreign investments in this sector, and protecting them against various threats. International Investment Agreements (IIAs) offer several substantive protections that equally serve foreign investments in this sector. Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) clauses are among these. This is a flexible standard of treatment whose boundaries are not clearly defined so far. Investment tribunals have diverse views of this standard. Against this background, this article asks: What are the prominent international renewable energy investment threats, and how can FET clauses better contribute to alleviating these concerns? Employing a qualitative method, it analyses the legal aspects and properties of FET and concludes that the growing security and regulatory threats have formed a sort of modern legitimate expectations on the part of renewable energy investors who expect host states to protect them against such threats. Hence, IIAs and tribunals need to uphold a definite and broadly applicable FET approach to bring more consistency and predictability to arbitral awards. This would help deter many unfavourable practices against investments in this sector.

The high unemployment rate among university graduates is prompting universities to enhance the business skills of their students. This research aims to holistically explain the role of university support and entrepreneurial resilience in increasing students’ business innovation capabilities. To analyze phenomena and relationships between variables, a quantitative approach using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used. This research sample involved 165 student entrepreneurs who are members of the student entrepreneur community in Indonesia. Knowledge management does not significantly impact increasing business innovation capabilities. However, perceived university support and entrepreneurial resilience have been shown to significantly impact business innovation capabilities and strengthen the influence of knowledge management activities on increasing business innovation capabilities. Universities must create policies supporting extracurricular entrepreneurship programs, focusing on building entrepreneurial resilience. This can be achieved through workshops and business incubator initiatives involving partnerships with industry and the entrepreneurial community. This research provides a new perspective in analyzing higher education entrepreneurship education through a more in-depth explanation of the extracurricular activities of the student business community to build business innovation capabilities based on knowledge, institutional, and trait theory perspectives.

The purpose of the article is to examine the changes in cross-border cooperation between Vietnam and China as a result of the development and connectivity of cross-border infrastructure between the two countries. This article is based on a mixed-methods study that includes desk research and surveys. The article explains how the two countries’ approaches to border shifted from ‘barrier’ to the border of ‘connectivity’. Accordingly, the article examines the changes in border management cooperation between the two countries, which serves as a vital basis for cross-border development cooperation. Furthermore, the article examines the perceptions of the two countries regarding the development and connectivity of cross-border infrastructure for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and beyond. At the same time, the article examines how the two countries promote the development and connectivity of cross-border infrastructure, both hard and soft. The article also examined some initial results and some issues facing the two countries. The paper concludes with some findings. In particular, the article concludes that increased border connectivity will encourage cross-border cooperation and integration between the two countries and help to alleviate security concerns. Although the two countries have made efforts to open their borders, in the transition from a border of ‘barriers’ to a border of ‘connectivity’ remain partly to Vietnamese people’s memories of the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese border war, as well as the impact of the two countries’ unresolved South China Sea disputes. However, Vietnam also tries to promote cross-border cooperation within a controllable level.