The IsDB Institute (IsDBI) in its newly-published 2022 annual report confirmed that a grant will be allocated to facilitate a legal and market study for its ‘Awqaf Free Zones’ initiative for 2023. The project is one of three new initiatives announced by the IsDBI for this year.
The project, which was proposed last year, will combine the elements of Waqf, free zones and blockchain technology to create Waqf free zones in IsDB member countries (MCs). The project is expected to address food and energy security needs.
“Within the free zones, Waqf assets can be created to enjoy protective status suitable to the nature and requirements for preserving Waqf assets. This will help unlock the potential of under-utilized natural resources and alleviate poverty in the MCs,” the IsDBI detailed.
The free zones will mobilize the ‘Global Waqf Token’, a blockchain-based token, to allow contributors to monitor and verify their Waqf asset transactions. It will also enable the creation and management of Waqf deeds.
According to the institute, the project is currently being validated through legal and market studies, which are supported by a US$260,000 grant. The studies are to be followed by a business and operational plan.
Earlier in 2021, the IsDBI began the development of a patent for a blockchain-based ‘Smart Voucher’ token as well as a blockchain platform with a consensus algorithm.
In the same year, the institute laid the groundwork for the ‘Awqaf Free Zones’ project, requesting proposals for the development of a blockchain-based ‘Ish’had Platform’ to verify Waqf properties.
While the ‘Awqaf Free Zones’ project is slowly coming to fruition, the timeline for the initiative appears to have been delayed by a matter of years.
In 2019, the institute announced that the IsDB planned to establish the ‘Ish’had Platform’ in that year.
In addition to the development of an in-house digital Waqf management platform, the IsDBI assisted the National Waqf Fund of the UK in developing a digital Waqf fund management platform through a grant of US$92,000 in 2022.
Also in the pipelines for the group’s Waqf development efforts is the prospective establishment of the ‘Global Waqf Centre of Excellence’ with a capitalization of US$50 million. The center, which was announced in 2020, is expected to build a global umbrella for the Waqf sector, linking and coordinating Waqf stakeholders.