Global Islamic Microfinance Forum 2015 to take place in Malaysia

Source: AlHuda CIBE website.

The Muslim world is severely impacted by poverty. A conservative estimate from AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) finds that almost 46% of the poor live in Muslim countries, partly because of the general avoidance of riba, or interest, which is prohibited in Islam. To promote financial inclusion, the organisation suggests developing an Islamic microfinance system, said Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer, AlHuda CIBE.

Muhammad Zubair spoke at an event promoting the 5th Global Islamic Microfinance Forum, to be held November 24 and 25, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Organised by Akhuwat, an organisation focused on alleviating poverty through interest-free microfinance and AlHuda-CIBE, the event expects participants from nearly 30 different countries to discuss topics such as Islamic microfinance, financial inclusion, rural development, the use of IT in microfinance, and micro takaful.

Dr Amjad Saqib, Executive Director, Akhuwat, said that the primary objective of the event would be to explore the best techniques to alleviate poverty globally. He said the Akhuwat model has been very successful, as the organisation has already distributed almost Rs9 Billion among 960,000 families through qarD-a-Hassana (کرض-ا-حسّنا; Editor's note: a loan given as a good deed).

The Forum will be followed by workshops on November 26 and 27, covering on Islamic fund mechanisms, shari'ah standards and sustainable operations.

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2015 looks bright all round for Islamic banking and finance

The Islamic banking and finance market exceeded US$2 trillion in assets globally, strengthening in traditional markets such as Malaysia, Pakistan and the Middle East, and expanding into other destinations for the first time, including in Korea, Australia, and China, says the AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE), an advisor and consultancy for Islamic finance. 

According to the organisation, countries which recently entered into Islamic banking and finance have also shown good progress, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Oman. 

Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer, AlHuda CIBE, predicts that the market could exceed US$2.5 trillion dollars in 2015, estimating that Islamic banking will account for 86% share, with sukuk (6%), Islamic funds (4%), takaful (2%), and Islamic microfinance (1%) rounding out the remainder of the pie. 

He added that there are more than 1,500 organisations offering Islamic financial services in more than 90 countries worldwide, and that non-Muslim countries take up 40% of this share. On the other hand, Muslim countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia dominate in global Islamic banking, contributing 76% of the market. 

Muhammad Zubair Mughal forecast rapid growth of the sukuk market in 2015, and said it could be worth as much as US$150 billion. The Islamic fund market could be valued at US$100 billion. Takaful will contribute a more modest US$20 billion in 2015, a 15% growth rate, with India named as one of its new destinations. Islamic microfinance will also see a positive year, the CEO said. 

Global Islamic Microfinance Forum to tackle misconceptions, sources of funding

The fourth Global Islamic Microfinance Forum (GIMF) aims to bring the Islamic microfinance industry under one roof on November 1 and 2, 2014 in Dubai to discuss the challenges facing the industry, including a lack of suitable funds and misconceptions about Islamic microfinance. 

The event, organised jointly by the AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) and AKHUWAT, saw delegates from more than 27 countries participate in 3rd GIMF and participants from more than 35 countries are expected to attend the upcoming event.

Islamic microfinance, its challenges and opportunities, new products, microtakaful, IT integration, micro saving, and entrepreneur development will be discussed in detail. 

Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive, AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics noted that conventional microfinance has failed to alleviate poverty in the Muslim world, while Dr Amjad Saqib, Executive Director, AKHUWAT said that Islamic microfinance, which is free of interest, is driving the growth of small businesses. AKHUWAT is already benefiting more than 500,000 families across Pakistan, he said.