ICD, Finterra collaborate for sustainable business growth

Saudi Arabia  - Ayman Sejiny, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB Group), and Satesh Khemlani, managing director of Finterra PTE Ltd., signed a memorandum of understanding on May 30 to leverage each other’s strengths to achieve sustainable business growth, including crowd funding for sustainable development.

The MoU came as a result of an ongoing discussion about strategic collaboration between ICD and Finterra, in areas where both organizations have common beneficiaries and share similar social impact development goals.

During the current global pandemic, it is clear that digital channels and online working are increasingly important for financial services and financial inclusion. ICD’s collaboration with Finterra is based on the its highly powered blockchain solutions for Islamic social finance, namely, SadaqahChain, WAQFChain and ZakatChain. The MoU was digitally signed during a virtual signing ceremony attended by the senior management members of all parties in Saudi Arabia and Singapore, respectively.

Sejiny, the CEO of ICD, said: “ICD is focusing on five strategic pillars, which include: Focusing our core business on financial institutions; implementing new innovative products and channels; growing the business in a financially sustainable way; serving member countries based on their development needs; and deepening our collaboration within IsDB Group and other IFIs and partners.

“Accordingly, the collaboration with Finterra, being technologically sound and operationally innovative, would allow ICD to reach out to communities and beneficiaries in emerging markets that others fail to reach. With the help of advanced technology and constant innovation, we aim at breaking barriers and enabling financial services to become more accessible to each Muslim that needs our help or support.”