The study referred to the theory of planned behaviour in determining how the selected factors (innovativeness, proactive personality, need of achievement, internal locus of control, risk-taking propensity, lifestyle integration, social networking, resource and opportunity recognition, attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control) influenced the entrepreneurial intentions and pre-start-up behaviour among the Asnaf millennials in Malaysia. This study collected cross-sectional survey data, which are quantitative data from 310 randomly selected Asnaf millennials from Kelantan, Malaysia using structured interviews. This study used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling PLS-SEM to analyse the data. The result confirmed the indirect influence (entrepreneurial intention) of attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on the pre-start-up behaviour. Findings revealed that all antecedents have a positive and statistically significant effect on attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, with an exception to risk-taking propensity. Hence, it is suggested that development programs and policies should enhance the innovativeness and opportunity recognition competency, provide access to working capital, and build a platform to promote entrepreneurial networking in increasing entrepreneurial intention among the low-income Asnaf millennials in Malaysia.

Purpose This study intended to determine the effect of selected entrepreneurial traits on the attitude of Asnaf Millennials in Malaysia towards entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional study that collected the quantitative data via structured interviews from 310 randomly selected Asnaf Millennials from Kelantan, Malaysia. Findings The findings confirmed the positive and statistically significant effect of innovativeness, internal locus of control, need for achievement and proactive personality on the attitude of Asnaf Millennials on entrepreneurship. Originality/value This study focussed on the development of non-cognitive skills for individual characteristics regarding entrepreneurship for the benefit of development practitioners and policymakers. The government and development organisations should focus on developing entrepreneurial traits that are expected to improve the attitude towards entrepreneurship and increase the entrepreneurial activities in Malaysia. This initiative can improve the socio-economic condition of Asnaf Millennials with low income.

Zakat institutions in Malaysia oversee the obligatory Islamic donations, which have improved the poor and needy‘s socio-economic conditions through innovative programs. These income-generating programs, which zakat recipients participate in, have enabled people to improve their livelihoods. These programs allow zakat recipients to become business owners with the ultimate goal of becoming zakat payers themselves. However, despite all assistance extended, the number of entrepreneurial failures among asnaf entrepreneurs is quite alarmingly high. Inadvertently, the fulfillment of Maqasid Syariah, the goals or objectives of Islamic law, is still lacking since identifying the rightful recipients from potential recipients is quite challenging. A successful entrepreneur requires motivation, so recipients should be motivated. If the best recipients are not identified, then there must be flaws in the system, so pinpointing those areas for improvement becomes critical. Not only that, once motivated recipients are found, which of these recipients will follow Maqasid Syariah to become zakat payers? In view of these issues, this paper proposes three main pre-selection areas for asnaf entrepreneurs, including a look at the three participants, namely, the zakat recipients, the zakat institutions, and the zakat payers. A thorough understanding of these participants, for future successful zakat process implementation, is crucial. However, the main areas discussed are based on a participant‘s pre-selection which (1) measures their entrepreneurial intent, or motivation, by using an entrepreneurship index to identify true potential asnaf entrepreneurs, (2) a proposal to appoint village headmen who collaborate with local imams to verify potential recipients for better zakat management, and (3) an allocation of capital for targeted Millennial Asnaf who would use the money to initiate their entrepreneurial ventures on a small scale so they can increase the success of the Islamic zakat system.

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The Entrepreneurship Index (EI) serves as a measurement tool that effectively determines if one possesses the prospect of becoming a successful entrepreneur by assessing several essential aspects, such as entrepreneurial orientation, personality, leadership, motivation and knowledge, pertaining to functional skills. Hence, the cross-sectional design was adopted in this study and quantitative data were gathered from some randomly selected 800 Asnafs (those eligible for zakat-donation for the poor) listed under the Kelantan Islamic Religious and Customs Council. The outcomes of this study that classify the aspects of EI are grouped into three categories: low, medium, and high EI. As a result, the variances between high class and both medium and low classes have been double and triple, respectively. Furthermore, participants from Bachok, on an average, obtained higher scores on EI, in comparison to those from other districts. These findings can be turned into an essential measurement tool to indicate both entrepreneurial potentials and readiness among those from rural low-income households, which can be employed by relevant bodies in their attempt to aid those with entrepreneurial prospects and higher possibilities of attaining success in the business arena.