Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Faculty Publications Article Faculty Publications -Articles Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ramaian Vasantha, Naveenan; Bossman, Ahmed; Iqbal, Najaf Title A name given to the resource Empowering energy access: the influence of Islamic banking and Fintech on sustainable energy in MENA Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01-01-2025 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management; Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IMEFM-01-2025-0019" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://doi.org/10.1108/IMEFM-01-2025-0019</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105017319059?origin=resultslist" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105017319059?origin=resultslist</a> Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ramaian Vasantha N., School of Business and Management, Christ University, Bangalore, India; Bossman A., Department of Finance, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana, LUT Business School, LUT University, Lappeenranta, Finland; Iqbal N., School of Accounting, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, China Description An account of the resource Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of financial inclusion through Islamic banking and fintech-driven digital financial services on sustainable energy access (SEA) in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Despite the regions abundant energy resources, persistent challenges of energy poverty remain. This study explores how complementary financial mechanisms can address financing gaps in clean energy initiatives. Design/methodology/approach This study explores the influence of Islamic banking and fintech on energy poverty in the MENA region. Using the entropy weight approach, the authors uniquely construct composite SEA indices for individual MENA countries and ascertain how these SEAs are influenced by Islamic banking (FI1) and fintech-driven financial inclusion (FI2). Findings The findings reveal an average SEA value of 0.25, indicating that MENA countries face energy poverty. The analysis shows the influence of banking infrastructure and Islamic financial services on SEA in the Islamic MENA region, highlighting the complexity of the issue. From an aggregate view, both aspects of financial infrastructure improve SEA. The results show that unemployment, trade openness, urbanization and inflation significantly predict SEA. Originality/value The findings apply to the Islamic MENA region because of the larger sample of countries than the single-country studies primarily found in the relevant literature. The findings underscore the complementary roles of Islamic banking and fintech-based financial inclusion in addressing energy poverty, presenting essential implications for policymakers and governments in the MENA region. 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited Subject The topic of the resource Energy poverty; F65; Financial inclusion; Fintech; G20; G23; I32; Islamic banking; MENA; N77; O10; Q41; Sustainable development goals Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Emerald Publishing Relation A related resource ISSN: 17538394; Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Article Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource online