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10 August 2017
Welcome to news from Salaam Gateway, Thomson Reuters’ website dedicated to news and insights focused on the global Islamic economy.
In the Shariah-compliant financial industry this week, financial free zone Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and United Kingdom-based think tank the Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI) signed an agreement to partner on fintech initiatives that can boost financial inclusion in the Middle East and Africa.
The new partners told Salaam Gateway their aim is to leverage RFI's expertise in ethical and Islamic finance and ADGM's regulated fintech platform and ecosystem connections to encourage innovators and attract capital between the UK, the Middle East, and Africa.
“The focus on the wider Middle East and Africa is important because of the high concentration of Islamic finance in these markets but still significant financial exclusion,” RFI chief operating officer Blake Goud told Salaam Gateway.
In November last year Abu Dhabi became the first jurisdiction in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East to launch a fintech legislative framework. It is one of only less than ten markets to run a fintech regulatory sandbox that allows businesses to innovate in a live environment.
Among Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, Malaysia is the only other jurisdiction with a live regulatory sandbox. Dubai and Indonesia have both proposed their own setups.
Malaysia is moving very quickly in the fintech space and has welcomed its first Shariah-compliant robo-advisor for investments. The downside to the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial sector is that it could endanger fund managers’ jobs even while it opens up new investment options for stakeholders.
Further reading this week from Salaam Gateway:
© Express 2017
Welcome to news from Salaam Gateway, Thomson Reuters’ website dedicated to news and insights focused on the global Islamic economy.
In the Shariah-compliant financial industry this week, financial free zone Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and United Kingdom-based think tank the Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation (RFI) signed an agreement to partner on fintech initiatives that can boost financial inclusion in the Middle East and Africa.
The new partners told Salaam Gateway their aim is to leverage RFI's expertise in ethical and Islamic finance and ADGM's regulated fintech platform and ecosystem connections to encourage innovators and attract capital between the UK, the Middle East, and Africa.
“The focus on the wider Middle East and Africa is important because of the high concentration of Islamic finance in these markets but still significant financial exclusion,” RFI chief operating officer Blake Goud told Salaam Gateway.
In November last year Abu Dhabi became the first jurisdiction in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East to launch a fintech legislative framework. It is one of only less than ten markets to run a fintech regulatory sandbox that allows businesses to innovate in a live environment.
Among Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, Malaysia is the only other jurisdiction with a live regulatory sandbox. Dubai and Indonesia have both proposed their own setups.
Malaysia is moving very quickly in the fintech space and has welcomed its first Shariah-compliant robo-advisor for investments. The downside to the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial sector is that it could endanger fund managers’ jobs even while it opens up new investment options for stakeholders.
Further reading this week from Salaam Gateway:
- ADGM-RFI fintech partnership to boost financial inclusion through Islamic finance
- What are fintech regulatory sandboxes and where are they?
- Robo-advisors ready to morph Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry
- MuslimPro buy-out is tip of the iceberg of investment in digital Islamic economy
- The nightingale in search of a rose garden: concert music sidelined in Muslim-majority countries
© Express 2017
