“ I think Islamic investment options will likely become a mainstay of major banks as the Muslim population and their wealth grow ”
IBRAHIM KHAN CO-FOUNDER , ISLAMICFINANCEGURU
IFG ’ s Ibrahim Khan points out that there are other reasons that explain why Muslims globally under-index so heavily in terms of ownership of financial assets .
“ The global Muslim population is on average younger and comes from developing nations ,” he says . “ We expect these numbers to change quite significantly over time , as the burgeoning middle class starts to develop in places like the Middle East , North Africa , Pakistan and Indonesia .”
Indeed , of the countries that Goldman Sachs believes will be the 10 largest economies by 2075 , five of them – India , Indonesia , Nigeria , Pakistan , and Egypt – have sizeable Muslim populations amounting to more than 850 million people .
“ Muslims are generally not as well educated when it comes to investing , and this is partly due to a lack of available options for them as Muslims . Even basic information pertaining to Shariah-compliant investments is often not available to most of the Muslim population .”
Will Islamic investing products become mainstream ? As the Shariah-compliant investing proposition becomes stronger , will we see more mainstream providers adopt – or acquire – solutions aimed at the Islamic population ? Will Islamic investing become less of a niche offering and more of a mainstream one , and if so , what will this mean for the small investing startups that have so far pioneered the space ?
“ I think Islamic investment options will likely become a mainstay of major banks as the Muslim population and their wealth grow ,” Khan tells us .
132 December 2023