Alizz Islamic Bank offers new commercial finance options

Alizz Islamic Bank has enabled salaried individuals to access commercial finance for personal businesses via their salary.

New shari'ah-compliant commercial financing solutions have the advantage of purchasing different goods, including equipment, machinery, vehicles or even property through murabahah, ijarah or forward ijarah options.

Murabahah allows customers to buy equipment and goods and land at competitive prices whereas ijarah solutions help businessmen to finance ready properties. Forward ijarah helps them to finance the construction of facilities at competitive prices.

Under murabahah, the bank will purchase the asset from the seller based on the customer's request and sell it to the customer at cost plus the agreed profit rate, concluding the murabahah sale contract. The most important feature of this product is that the customer will know the profit markup and installments at the time of signing the deal. Another feature is that the murabahah cost remains unchanged throughout the term. Moreover, the customer takes possession of the goods immediately.

Under ijarah, the customer will be given the right to utilise or lease the property for a specific period while the bank remains the property owner. The bank will buy the property from the developer or seller and lease it out to the customer with a promise to sell it at the end of the lease term.

In Forward ijarah, the property is acquired by Alizz Islamic Bank under an istisna sale contract with a developer upon the customer's promise to lease. Istisna refers to a sale where a commodity or property transaction takes place before that commodity or property even comes into existence. This essentially means that a company is told to manufacture a specific commodity or build a property for the purchaser.

Once the construction process is completed, the property will be delivered to the customer based on rental conditions. At the end of the lease term (or upon maturity date) and once the obligations stated in the forward ijarah contract have been fulfilled, the bank will transfer the ownership of property to the customer at a nominal sale price on the basis of a separate sale contract.

Interested?

The financing options are available to Omanis working in government or semi-government agencies as well as those working in the private sector. The minimum salary is OMR500 for government and semi-government employees and OMR750 for those working in the private sector. The application procedure is easy and fast with simple documentation requirements.

Applicants seeking financing must be between 21 and 60 years old. Murabahah-based financing options for equipment and vehicles are available from OMR5,000 to OMR100,000. Ijarah-based financing options start from OMR50,000 to a maximum of OMR700,000.

Murabaha-based finance contracts last seven years while ijarah conracts are nine years long, excluding a 12-month construction period. An applicant can get up to 80% of finance for the costs of equipment, vehicles and property, and 100% on the cost of commodities.

Fintech and traditional bank partnerships are a win-win

• Remittances identified as key sector for fintech companies
• Dubai praised for embracing Blockchain and other technology

Fears of an imminent disruption to traditional banking from the financial technology sector are overblown, with a collaborative approach being the most likely way forward, according to experts at the Global Islamic Economy Forum (GIES) being held in Dubai, UAE.

Zubair Ahmed, Head of IT & Business Innovation at Emirates Islamic Bank, said: “The good things about fintech companies are speed and customer focus, yet the cons are they are not widely regulated. Increasingly, the relationship between banks and fintech is being seen as a much more complementary and collaborative one than competitive.”

He added that opportunities exist for fintech in innovations such as digital currencies and Blockchain. “The fintech revolution cannot be done by a single bank, but a single bank can create a new norm,” he said. “The good thing is that here in the UAE, we have a great body of federation banks which gives input to UAE Central Bank and has such discussions. Dubai government’s vision of using Blockchain I think will really help the ecosystem and third parties.”

Abdul Haseeb Basit, CFO of the UK’s Innovate Finance, agreed that a collaborative approach is most likely. “The challenge for startups is regulation. Fintech realises that regulation is where banks have an advantage, while (banks) also have the ability to access a wide customer base. Banks already have that scale so it makes sense for fintechs to partner with them rather than market on their own.”

He also agreed with Zubair that Dubai’s focus on Blockchain could be a game-changer. “Dubai’s government aspirations to be a Blockchain government are huge. Having a system where you can track and log all transactions is a great step forward. In most cases using applications which already exist actually makes financial transactions and processes cheaper and faster."

Basit identified remittances as the next big thing. “I think (remittances are) where we could see the next unicorns* in fintech,” he said. “Companies who specialise in this can come here and capture market share.”

Abdulla Al Najran, Deputy CEO, Boubyan Bank, Kuwait, said banks should view fintechs favourably. “Banks must work with fintechs as they have ideas that the older generation will not come up with. We are also working with the regulator and bringing new ideas to the table," he said.

“Non-traditional customers are choosing to go with shari'ah-compliant products and Islamic banks because of the transparency and now the technology. Technology and fintech can help Islamic banks broaden their customer base.”

David Martinez de Lecea, Specialist Consultant, FinTech, Roland Berger in the UAE said: “Regulation is the biggest challenge. We have an invested in products that are better than others but it takes six to eight months to roll them out. We are developing great solutions for customers that lower cost and improve access but the regulatory side is still looking at models that were developed two years ago. This process needs to move faster.”

He added that Dubai is successfully positioning itself at the nexus of finance and technology. “The most groundbreaking things we are going to see in the next years are artificial intelligence technology, future accelerators and initiatives launched in Dubai – very exciting things are happening here and it’s going to become the next global capital of the Islamic world,” he said.

Hashtag: #GIES2016

*A unicorn is a startup which does not yet have a track record but nevertheless is valued at US$1 billion or more.

IdeaLab 2016 to give ASEAN startups a boost

IdeaLab 2016 is a two-day boutique startup conference focusing on ASEAN startup cross-border linkages, and the Malaysian startup ecosystem, and includes the Malaysian Business Angels Network (MBAN) Summit (All About Angels) for investors worldwide. According to the organisers, 500 of the best startups, investors and corporates in the ASEAN ecosystem have been targeted.

Delegates can attend the Ideation Stage, where industry leaders will discuss pressing issues for startups in ASEAN; the IdeaPad Stage where the best ASEAN startups battle it out in front of a panel of judges; and the IdeaClinic, where startups get real-time advice on legal, public relations and marketing issues.

In Startups Anonymous; breakout rooms allow ASEAN startups to share their challenges and experiences, while Networking Pods offer an online-to-offline platform for setting up discussions between participants during the event. The MBAN Summit (All About Angels) will introduce traditional investors to the startup ecosystem, whereas the Startup Ecosystem Fair will showcase the major players in the Malaysian startup ecosystem and some of the best startups in the ASEAN region.

The event is part of Malaysian Entrepreneurship Week, from 31 October to 3 November, a collaboration between the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), the WIEF Foundation, MBAN, the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Global Startup Awards.

The week begins with IdeaLab and the MBAN Summit from 31 October to 1 November at Berjaya Times Square Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, followed by the Global Entrepreneurship Community (GEC) hosted by MaGIC on 2 to 3 November at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, focusing on creating a collaborative platform for entrepreneurial innovation between the major and micro ecosystem builders in the global startup space. The MOSTI Commercialisation Year conference will run parallel to the GEC. The Global Startup Award ceremony will be held on 3 November.

Bank of Palestine backs Business Women Forum initiatives

The Business Women Forum, in partnership with the Bank of Palestine, has launched a training programme and the I am an Entrepreneur 2016 contest.

Logo for the I am an Entrepreneur contest.

Since 2011, the Business Women Forum has targeted young women entrepreneurs through a programme to develop their skills and capabilities, in order to enable them to develop business plans and apply business ideas effectively. The women entrepreneurs receive intensive training that help them create new job opportunities. The training programme is implemented through the Business Development Center, the Forum’s technical arm, which provides all types of assistance in order to advance the businesses owned by women in Palestine.

This programme is an integral part of Felestineya (Editor's note: Palestine woman), a non-financial advisory service provided by the bank since 2014 through collaboration with the Forum to empower Palestinian women. 

The I am an Entrepreneur contest also aims to empower women. It promotes a competitive spirit between women entrepreneurs, encourages them to start or develop their own businesses, and helps them fulfill their ambitions. The first-place winner will receive US$5,000, while the second and third-place winners will each receive US$2,500.

Eligible women must have serious ideas for businesses, or an existing project. They should demonstrate the ability to develop their own profitable businesses. The contestants receive training in writing business plans, including consultations to develop or start their own businesses. They will also get guidance from the Business Development Center, which connects them with new markets and sources of funding for capital.

Interested?

Read the terms and conditions for the I am an Entrepreneur contest (Arabic)

Arab youth more likely to start a business compared to older cohorts

• The 2016 ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey* finds more than a third of young Arabs intend to start own business in next five years
• Young Arabs say governments can do more to encourage lending, provide training and cut red tape
• Young Arabs are increasingly positive about entrepreneurship with more than half believing members of this generation are more likely to start a business than the previous one

Asked “do you feel people in this generation are more likely to start a business than in previous generations,” 54% agreed, with youth in the GCC most enthusiastic at 62%, compared to 54% of North African youth and 44% of youth in the Levant.

The key finding from the Eighth Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey was unveiled by Sunil John, the founder and CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller. Now in its eighth year, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey has established itself as a key referral source for businesses and policymakers across the world.

In a separate response, the survey found that 36% of young Arabs said they themselves intend to start their own business in the next five years – specifically 37% of youth in the GCC, 39% in North Africa and 31% in the Levant.

Real estate, technology and retail were the top three sectors in which Arab youth would like to start a new business venture. Real estate is the preferred choice for a startup in the Gulf states, where 24% of youth said they would opt to launch a property-related company, whereas technology was the top choice for would-be entrepreneurs in the Levant (15%) and North Africa (18%). Retail is the second most popular choice in Levant and North Africa for 15% and 16 of respondents respectively; however in the Gulf only 9% would opt to start a retail operation.

Across the whole Middle East 34% said they did not intend to launch their own business, while 30% didn’t know. Lack of financial resources to start a business was cited as the main reason overall, by 20% of young people, however in the GCC only 8% believed they lacked the means to go it alone, while in North Africa, 37% saw this as the biggest hurdle.

Young Arabs believe governments can do more to support young entrepreneurs, with 39% saying that encouraging affordable lending should be made a priority; 25% calling for education and training to be improved and made more available; and 19% asking for government regulations and red tape to be cut.

“These findings suggest governments in the Middle East have an excellent opportunity to really help kickstart an entrepreneurial culture in the region,” said Sunil John. “With the Arab world needing to provide 80 to 100 million jobs by 2020, according to the World Bank, this represents a rich resource of largely untapped talent who can help drive the Arab world’s transformation to knowledge-based economies, and provide the opportunities of the future.”

Interested?

Explore in-depth results from the 8th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey, including survey highlights and a white paper in Arabic and English

Read the Suroor Asia blog post about where Arab youth would most like to live

*For the 2016 survey, international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18 to 24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. The interviews were conducted in the period January 11 to February 22, 2016.

posted from Bloggeroid

LINE@ is ideal for mumpreneurs

LINE, the global lifestyle platform, is highlighting LINE@, one of LINE’s Family apps for Mother's Day. The service lets users create official accounts to share both personal and professional content. A LINE@ account allows users to engage directly with customers and fans with functionality such as a Timeline to post content on, one-on-one chats with fans and customers for real-time business updates, as well as a polling function that allows users to gather feedback seamlessly.

This Mother’s Day, LINE celebrates mumpreneurs, who tirelessly dedicate their lives to their families while managing their own businesses. The platform has also provided some tips for mumpreneurs to stay on top of their game and grow their businesses with LINE@.

Reach an audience of thousands
Send mass messages to customers and fans that have friended your account to promote your business and events, or gather feedback from followers.

Share updates easily
Post your updates via the Timeline and keep your followers updated on new products and services.

Stay connected anytime, anywhere
Add LINE@ account information to business cards so fans and customers have another way to reach you.

Survey customers for feedback
Set up polls with LINE@’s research page to gather feedback on products and services, or capture customer profile data such as age, gender. You can even use the statistics provided to monitor user behaviour.

Thank fans for their support
Give readers, fans and customers a treat with coupons with your LINE account. LINE’s new app feature, Coupon Book, allows LINE users to keep track of all the coupons they receive via LINE.

Interested?

Choose from two plan options – free or paid – to gain access to LINE@’s features. A free plan includes 1,000 sent messages a month. A paid plan starts from US$50 a month and includes 50,000 messages sent a month. Each message beyond that costs US$0.01 for paid plans; free plans are limited to 1,000 messages. Sign up

Great Women Malaysia launches collaboration platform for female entrepreneurs

Source: Great Women Malaysia. Puan Nadira Yusoff.

Great Women Malaysia today kicked off the Great Women Connect Series, a platform to spark opportunities for women-in-business globally to share ideas and experiences in trading. It also aims to facilitate global partnerships, establishing networks and realising potentials especially for those with intentions and readiness to go outside Malaysia.

Great Women Malaysia (GMW) is an initiative aimed at helping and facilitating Malaysian women in the underserved and rural communities move up the economic and value chain through participation of entrepreneurial or artisanal activities, focusing on fashion and lifestyle industry.

The GWM is part of a larger initiative called ASEAN Great Women, which enables Great Women initiatives from all participating ASEAN countries to collaborate on resources, cultural and ethnic materials, designs, skills and talents, and to develop products that can be commercialised globally. The Great Women development model had its start in the Philippines in 2011, motivated by the need to assist women entrepreneurs to overcome challenges of product sourcing, design, production, packaging and marketing. ASEAN Great Women was launched in 2015 as a regional platform for gender economic empowerment as well as competitive supply-chain integration in ASEAN.

The Great Women Connect Series seeks to develop the women's professional sector locally, regionally and globally in three main areas of economic, professional and social life. It aims to do this through dialogues with local and global initiatives. The series will also mobilise international diplomatic support for the advancement of women in society.

According to Puan Nadira Yusoff, head of Great Women Malaysia, “Empowering women and fully engaging them in the business and economic sectors has become a key global development priority, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where significant gender gap in economic participation persist. Promoting opportunities for both women and men makes good economic sense. It is important that both men and women are able to fully contribute to national and regional economic growth and trade. And this is the reason why we hold today’s interactive session.”

“Women’s SMEs in Malaysia have experienced strong annual growth albeit a relatively low initial level of women’s participation in SMEs. While cultural norms continue to limit women’s role in business, the general business environment in Malaysia is comparatively favourable. Women-in-business needs support from the government as well as from initiatives like us,” she added.

Puan Nadira Yusoff is a thought leader in the Malaysian's entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as CEO at Nadi-Ayu Technologies. She is involved in programmes that are initiated by the ministries in Malaysia, such as 1ASEAN Entrepreneurship Summit (1AES), 1Malaysian Entrepreneurs (1MET), Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM), GREAT and many more. She currently leads several NGOs/initiatives namely Great Women Malaysia (GWM), Women Entrepreneurs Network Association (WENA) and Girls in Tech (GIT).

Representatives from the Sharjah Business Women Council of the UAE participated in today's session, including Nada Al Lawati, Founder and CEO of Seed Group International, Huda Al Lawati, Senior Private Equity Professional, most recently Chief Investment Officer for the Abraaj Group in MENA, Sally Denton from Head of Irthi, Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council (part of NAMA*), Dr Amal Al Ali, Founder of CARDIFF Management Consulting & Training and Assistant Professor in Sharjah University, Ayesha Jasem, Membership and Services Senior Executive of the Sharjah Business Women Council, and Lina Mohammed Hamdan, Senior Manager - Strategy of the Sharjah Business Women Council.

Interested?

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog posts about the launch of GEM in Malaysia and WENA's Vital Voices Mentoring Walk in March 2016

*The NAMA Women Advancement Establishment was set up in the UAE in December 2015. It aims to develop opportunities for women in the economic, professional and social sectors. NAMA Women Advancement Establishment will also organise training, mentorships, provide advice and examine law and legislation concerning women.

GEM aims to create entrepreneur synergy

Source: GEM Facebook page.

The Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM) was officially launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) providing a networking platform for entrepreneurs from different sectors such as social entrepreneurship, technology, and halal to converge.

“I’m joined on this NGO by community leaders from different networks who will support a strong partnership for Malaysia and our entrepreneurs. We’ve got some incredible entrepreneurs, business leaders and innovators who are present today. They see the promise of internationalising Malaysia and will support GEM’s vision where no one is deprived or denied from being an entrepreneur," said YBhg. Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, the patron of GEM and Secretary General Treasury, Ministry of Finance. 

“GEM will be the first NGO that focuses on connecting, networking whilst fostering collaborations to internationalise Malaysia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.” 

GEM aspires to build, promote, internationalise and connect the Malaysia-based entrepreneurship movement with the world, including the investment sectors, business angels, private equity firms, venture capitalists and the like. It also aims to align with current entrepreneurial initiatives and agencies by bringing them together.

YBhg. Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan said, "By placing greater emphasis on entrepreneurship via GEM’s strategic programmes, locally, regionally or at an international level, everyone will be provided opportunities to rise which will ultimately unleash the possibilities of creating jobs, spurring innovation and strengthening Malaysia’s leading position in entrepreneurship.”

GEM is set to invest in a capacity building programme via a two-day hackathon for 300 university students at Gathering of Rising Entrepreneurs, Act Together (GREAT) Kuching in Sarawak on April 2 and 3, 2016. GREAT Kuching is the ultimate gathering for all stages of entrepreneurs, startups and funding vehicles led by the National Strategic Unit (NSU) and the National Entrepreneur Development Office (NEDO), supported by the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC). There will also be a year long programme done in partnership with Malaysia Debt Ventures (MDV) to help entrepreneurs who have failed rebound.

According to GEM’S President, Dash Dhakshinamoorthy, “Today, we have people from all walks of industries. Some are startups, some in growth stages and some are in the multi-million dollar revenue stage. However (the) one common thread that runs through the fabric of this group is the desire to make Malaysia the go-to place for launching ventures.

“The government has played a pivotal role for many years to spur entrepreneurship in the country. From setting up the MSC to launching various venture capital funds and also by investing in various agencies to catalyse and grow different clusters of entrepreneurs – grassroots, university entrepreneurship, startups, agri-entrepreneurs, creative entrepreneurs just to name a few. The time has come for independent and private sector players to synergise and weave the ecosystem together by building trust, collaboration and most importantly to be able to dream together to make the Malaysian entrepreneur truly global.” 

Interested?

Membership in GEM is open to students, individuals and companies. Membership fees begin from RM50.

Malaysia launches shari'ah-compliant crowdsourced investment platform, with ratings from RAM Holdings

Six Islamic banking institutions have launched the first bank-intermediated financial technology (fintech) platform in Malaysia. The Investment Account Platform (IAP) a strategic initiative of the Islamic finance industry to operationalise investment accounts, a new product offering by Islamic banking institutions. 

The platform has been developed by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raeed Holdings, a consortium of six Islamic banking institutions: Affin Islamic, Bank Islam, Bank Muamalat, Maybank Islamic, Bank Rakyat and Bank Simpanan Nasional. In his speech, Datuk Zamani Abdul Ghani, Chairman of Raeed described the launch as an important milestone within the industry as it aims to broaden the traditional role of Islamic banking institutions, from traditional credit provider to include investment intermediary.

Similar to many fintech platforms such as crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending platforms, IAP facilitates direct investment by investors into viable ventures of their choice. However, a key differentiating factor of IAP would be the roles undertaken by Islamic banking institutions. According to Mohamed Izam Mohamed Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of Raeed, what IAP brings to the table is the ‘trust’ factor provided by Islamic banking institutions’ experience and expertise, which is valuable in boosting investors’ confidence and enhancing financing opportunities for entrepreneurs. 

"I would say, the main challenge in developing IAP lies in streamlining various considerations including IT, banking operations, shari'ah, legal, products, recovery, risk management and compliance across the four founding banks, while ensuring that the business propositions of IAP remain competitive," he said.

"IAP is a centralised multi-bank platform that enables investors to directly finance ventures of their choice according to their risk-return preferences. The platform intends to enable different spectrums of businesses, including SMEs, corporates, new growth industries as well as entrepreneurs with good and viable projects, to gain access to financing in support of real economic growth. A unique feature of IAP lies in the intermediary roles undertaken by Islamic banking institutions, which put forth the element of trust and credibility that are valuable in boosting investors’ confidence and enhancing financing opportunities for entrepreneurs. This ultimately increases the likelihood of concluding tangible deals via IAP."

IAP was launched by Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. "Its robust risk management infrastructure, with a high degree of transparency and disclosure differentiates the IAP from other technology-based fund-raising platforms. Islamic banks in performing their intermediation role in the operationalisation of the investment accounts that are being offered on this platform, would rigorously undertake the credit assessment and screening of the listed ventures. The IAP would also require ratings on the listed ventures by rating agencies reinforced by the requirement for such ventures to comply to the disclosure standards thus enabling investors to make informed decisions. Integral to the platform is a mechanism for regular monitoring of the progress of the ventures, thus allowing for assessments to be undertaken by the sponsoring banks of any emerging risks associated with the ventures," she said. 

"The value proposition and benefits of the IAP are multi-fold. It has the potential to spur the generation of new economic strengths through the promotion of entrepreneurship and job creation while also promoting greater financial inclusion and thus enhanced prospects for balanced growth. The IAP enables investors to directly finance a broad range of economic activity of their choice, therefore diversifying their investment portfolio with exposures to various types of projects and industries that yield potential returns that are based on the performance of the underlying chosen ventures. For businesses, the IAP provides a new source of funding for activities, with more competitive financing terms in a range of financing structures. Ventures and entities of varying types, size and industries, including SMEs, listed firms and multinational companies can raise funds on this platform. Given its greater visibility, the IAP will also provide access to a broader range of individuals and institutional investors.

"For Islamic banks, the IAP creates a differentiated product that presents a new source of income and funding profile. There is also the potential for institutions with specific mandates including government agencies to strategically collaborate with the IAP and Islamic banks to form public-private partnerships to facilitate the efficient channelling of grants or funding and to facilitate financing opportunities for identified strategic ventures."

Strengthening financial inclusion and internationalisation

IAP will also be positioned as a new medium to facilitate more public-private partnerships in financing strategic ventures within specific industries. Through collaborations with IAP, government agencies can efficiently identify viable ventures to channel their grants into, and create opportunities for the private sector to partially fund these ventures. This can increase the number of beneficiaries for these grants therefore optimising the government’s revenue in spurring productive economic growth

More Islamic banking institutions are expected to join the platform moving forward. In addition to cost-efficiency factors and enhanced ability to achieve critical mass amongst clients, the competitive edge of IAP for Islamic banking institutions lies in internationalisation. IAP has the potential to be expanded as an avenue to channel local and foreign shari'ah-compliant investments in financing projects denominated in various currencies, as well as to be intermediated by Islamic banking institutions from different countries.

RAM Holdings separately announced that it has entered into an agreement with IAP Integrated to provide independent credit ratings on ventures listed on the IAP. RAM will conduct credit assessment and assign a credit rating to each venture prior to its listing on the IAP. The credit ratings from RAM provide potential IA investors with an independent, third-party opinion on the credit risk of the underlying venture. 

“RAM’s role in IAP is to provide an independent view on the creditworthiness or likelihood of the venture in meeting full and timely payment of expected profit and repayment of principal. This would require us to take into account factors beyond the track record of the entrepreneurs concerned, including industry risks and the viability of the proposal itself,” said Datuk Seri Dr K. Govindan, Group Chief Executive Officer of RAM Holdings. “We will leverage on RAM’s extensive experience in rating bonds and sukuk to deliver our credit opinions on the ventures.”

“Given RAM’s over 25 years of track record in credit ratings across various industries and geographies, it is well-positioned to conduct independent assessment on ventures listed on the IAP,” said Mohamed Izam. "RAM’s rating methodology is also familiar to most investors, which is a plus point in supplementing their investment decision making process.” 

In her launch speech Tan Sri Dr Zeti noted that Islamic finance in Malaysia has evolved into a complete Islamic financial ecosystem that operates alongside the conventional financial system. "The industry has now not only achieved a market share beyond the target of 20% by the year 2010 as was envisioned in the Financial Sector Masterplan, but it has also met the increasing and differentiated demands of the economy through the range of financial product offerings in Islamic banking, takaful and Islamic capital market segments," she said. 

Dr Zeti said the new landscape is enabled by the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA) takes into account the specificities of Islamic finance while ensuring a robust governance of an end-to-end shari'ah-compliant regulatory framework, and enables Islamic banks to diversify through offering investment accounts as an alternative means of raising funds from the public. "This new categorisation of deposits under the new Act has now been fully observed since mid-2015 with the effective reclassification of deposits to either being Islamic deposits or investment accounts. Following this exercise, the proportion of investment accounts to total funding for Islamic banks has increased from 7% in August to 10% as at December 2015, indicating a positive response towards this new product offering," she said. 

Kitaab starts crowdfunding campaign

Source: Kitaab website.

Kitaab, which means “book” in many Asian languages, is moving to the next phase of its evolution with crowdfunding on Indiegogo. The literary project was founded in 2005 to empower and connect Asian writers with readers globally. Since then, it "has filled a major void in the online literary scene in Asia by creating a link-based information storehouse where the most important stories on Asian writers and writing were curated", says Zafar Anjum, its founder and a well-known author.

"Over the years, Kitaab has evolved into a much larger project that encompasses publishing and e-commerce to serve the same community of writers, readers, publishers and agents worldwide. Run by 15 voluntary editors who sit in different parts of the world, Kitaab provides a global writing and publishing platform to emerging and seasoned writers in Asia and abroad," he said. 

Kitaab began publishing in 2013, presenting original/translated contemporary literature in English and Asian languages. It is also getting recognised in the region, most recently as the media partner of the Hyderabad Literary Festival in India. 

"Two of Kitaab's titles were launched at this year's Singapore Literary Festival. Kitaab will publish three books by (Singapore) Cultural Medallion winner Isa Kamari in 2016, including the Malay writer's first novel written in English. Kitaab has also bought the Hindi/Urdu translation rights of Isa Kamari's pathbreaking Malay novel, Intercession," Anjum said. "We will be acquiring more Asian titles for translation." 

Intercession, published as Tawassul in Malay, explores the implications of cloning the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).

Anjum hopes that the crowdfunding campaign will raise up to US$10,000 to help Kitaab to curate better content and provide an improved user experience. "Those who will support Kitaab in this first-ever fundraising campaign will be rewarded with various perks, ranging from thank you notes from editors to signed copies of books to specially designed tote bags and even mentions on the Kitaab website as a patron," he said. 

So far, nearly more than 1,300 people have supported Kitaab’s appeal on Facebook, Anjum said. "We seek your help and cooperation to make our maiden fundraising - our first in ten years - a success," he said. 

Interested?

Contribute to or share the details of the crowdfunding campaign

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post on Anjum's book Startup Capitals
Read the Suroor Asia blog post on Anjum's book Iqbal

Ugly by Nature toothpaste is fluoride free

UGLY by nature, a newly launched chemical and fluoride-free toothpaste, is getting attention, is undergoing an Indiegogo campaign till November 1, 2015 to raise funds for production and distribution. The product ships worldwide, and contributions of US$5, US$10 or US$100 go towards the financial goal of US$26,000.

Source: Indiegogo page.

The toothpaste made with fair trade organic coconut oil, non-GMO xylitol, coconut-activated charcoal and aloe barbadensis leaf juice. "We decided on the name UGLY by nature because of the product's silvery-gray appearance – our signature colour," Dr Paul Herman, UGLY by nature's CEO says. 

Currently, UGLY by nature toothpaste is offered in seven flavours. All products are certified vegan, cruelty-free and non-GMO.

National Bank of Fujairah introduces dedicated banking for Emirati businesswomen

Source: NBF e-newsletter.

The National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) has launched NBF Elham, a department dedicated to supporting the banking requirements of female Emirati business leaders and entrepreneurs. Elham (إلهام) means 'inspiration' in Arabic.

Staffed by female Emirati corporate bankers and operating initially from the bank's Al Quoz branch, NBF Elham will provide Emirati businesswomen easy access to the bank's extensive knowledge and experience in multiple industries as well as its corporate banking services and growing suite of Islamic banking solutions.

While the UAE has issued countrywide directives committed to smoothening the transition of Emirati women into the corporate world, statistical and anecdotal evidence suggest that local female entrepreneurs, regardless of their strong ability and desire for success, still face challenges in receiving the appropriate support for their businesses.

Vikram Pradhan, NBF's Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking, said that NBF Elham reaffirms the bank's relationship-driven focus and commitment to the country's long term goal of cultivating a pipeline of Emirati business leaders.

"It is through my discussions with our Emirati lady clients and female relationship managers from my team that have made me realise that while the entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive in the UAE, many Emirati women entrepreneurs are not aware of, or do not have ready access to, the working capital, financial tools and expert guidance that would otherwise be available to other business owners.

"As a well-established local bank with one of the best track records in supporting businesses in the UAE, we are naturally the first to have identified this unique segment. By leveraging our highly trained and dedicated female Emirati relationship team and the bank's accumulated business experience and financial expertise, we hope to be able to level the playing field for aspiring Emirati female business leaders and thereby pave the way for their greater participation and success in the local economy."

Vince Cook, NBF's Chief Executive Officer, added: "The increasingly crucial role that Emirati businesswomen play in the future of the UAE requires little explanation, and as a customer segment, it is certainly deserving of greater attention from the local banking sector. Just as the government is actively pushing for greater inclusion of talented local women into the socio-political and economic spheres, we feel that there is much more that NBF can do on the ground to support the growing number of female Emirati businesswomen.

"With NBF Elham, we hope to not only encourage a stronger entrepreneurial culture within the country but to partner Emirati businesswomen as they achieve further breakthroughs in their respective industries."

NBF Elham is part of the bank's corporate and institutional banking division, which also has specialised teams focusing on various industries, from energy and marine, services and manufacturing to precious metals and diamonds.