Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of BUMDes Buahan Village in implementing the Gerbang Sadu Mandara program to improve the welfare of poor communities/Target Household Beneficiaries (RTS), and to identify key constraints affecting implementation.
Research Methodology: Qualitative descriptive study using Steers’ effectiveness framework (as adopted by Tangkilisan), with analysis dimensions: productivity, adaptability/flexibility, job satisfaction, profitability, and resource acquisition.
Results: BUMDes Buahan Village has not implemented the program effectively. Credit distribution for productive economic activities did not fully absorb allocated funds due to limited community knowledge and skills to start/manage businesses. Key constraints include inadequate resources for business management, limited staffing to manage trading activities, weak capacity to produce computerized financial reports, limited loan ceilings for RTS, and low community participation in utilizing the program.
Conclusions: The Gerbang Sadu Mandara program managed by BUMDes Buahan Village has not yet succeeded in improving the welfare of the targeted poor communities, mainly due to limited institutional capacity and low readiness/participation of beneficiaries.
Limitations: The study applies a qualitative descriptive approach in a single village context, so findings may have limited generalizability to other BUMDes/program locations and do not quantify welfare impacts statistically.
Contribution: Provides practical insights for strengthening BUMDes-based poverty programs through improved human resources, entrepreneurship capacity, mentoring/training for beneficiaries, financial reporting systems, and strategies to increase community participation—using an established effectiveness framework as an evaluative lens.