Dubai-headquartered Islamic consultancy firm Fineopolis and IBF Net Group, a technology-driven firm focusing on providing Islamic banking and Islamic social finance solutions, have entered into a strategic partnership to leverage each other’s geographical reach to expand into new markets.
Fineopolis sees this partnership as a crucial step to establishing itself in the Southeast Asian region. IBF is present in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Dublin. Through the strategic partnership, the companies strive to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in every project they embark on.
Fineopolis specializes in projects in the Islamic banking and Islamic social finance space. In the banking sector, it works with conventional banking institutions to help set up the infrastructure for Islamic banking both for establishing Islamic banking windows and fully-fledged Islamic banks. In the Islamic social finance space, it works with Zakat and Waqf institutions. With offices in Brussels, Casablanca and Dubai, it is currently establishing its newest office in Kuala Lumpur as a gateway to expand its business in Southeast Asia.
While financial inclusion is increasing globally, the incompatibility of conventional finance with Islamic principles effectively leaves the Muslim demographic behind when only conventional solutions are provided. Conventional measures of financial inclusion do not take into consideration the dissonance between conventional financial solutions and Islamic principles. IBF is motivated by this key factor to develop Islamic banking and Islamic social finance infrastructure. IBF’s smart solutions cover almost the entire range of Islamic financial and economic contracting powered by the Algorand blockchain protocol.
Highlighting an alignment between the Maqasid Shariah (objectives of Shariah) and the SDGs, Mohamed Hamza Ghaouri, the consultant in charge of setting up the Fineopolis Kuala Lumpur office, tells Islamic Sustainable Finance & Investment: “We believe that Islamic social finance institutions will drive sustainable development around the world because before the appearance of the SDGs, we have had the Maqasid Shariah. We believe that by achieving Maqasid Shariah through Islamic social finance, we are indirectly achieving the SDGs.”