This is a special presentation I did at an event organized by the team from the Investment Account Platform (IAPI) in Malaysia. It provides an introduction to what fintech is and the unique definition of Islamic Fintech and Islamic crowdfunding as well as an overview of some major trends in the general global fintech industry.

1. Islamic Crowdfunding
Ahmad Sabree – Fintech Consultant,
Msc. Islamic Bnaking and Finance

2. Overview
• Crowdfunding is one subsection of
the larger ecosystem known as
Fintech (Financial Technology).
The Categories of Fintech Include:
• Crowdfunding
• Payments/ e-wallets
• Remittance
• RegTech
• InsurTech
• RoboAdvisory
• Cryptocurrency

3. Definitions
• Fintech
The term Fintech (financial
technology) refers to new technology
or digital platforms that provide
financial services and solutions in
innovative new ways. Fintech can
function as an alternative to existing
financial institutions like banks,
remittance and credit card
companies. Fintech can also serve as
a complimentary service to FIs by
providing front end services like
digital banking
• Islamic Fintech
The combination of the various
fintech solutions available
(Crowdfunding, InsurTech,
RoboAdvisory, etc) to produce
Fintech solutions that are integrated
with the principals, structures,
contracts and values of Islamic
finance.

4. Definitions
• Crowdfunding
The gathering of many people
online to financially support a
cause, business or individual. Each
person giving a (small or large)
fractional amount towards a fixed
target amount.
• Islamic Crowdfunding
The combination of the
technology of crowdfunding with
the structures of Islamic finance
and principles of Fiqh Muamalat.

5. Crowdfunding Categories
There are 2 basic categories:
• Charity (Donation based and Reward based)
• Investment (P2P and Equity)
• Regulations focus mostly on Investment Based Crowdfunding
• In Malaysia SC regulates crowdfunding activities and issues licenses
for those who wish to operate investment crowdfunding platforms.

6. Trends - Fintech
• In 2018 more than 2,000 fintech investment deals were conducted
with a total value of $111.8 Billion.
Source: KPMG Pulse of Fintech 2018

7. Bank Collaborations with Fintech Companies
Not listed but to be
noted: Citi Bank Fintech
department.

8. Trends - Islamic Fintech
Source: Islamic Fintech
Allaince Report 2017

9. Major Players – Charity Crowdfunding-i
.

10. Major Players – Investment Crowdfunding-i
• EthisCrowd

11. Challenges
• Education of the general public about the nature of the services and
their features.
• After people understand the service the next step is winning their
trust
• The next step is to convert those who are interested and actively
monitoring the platform to actually invest.

12. Opportunities
• It is projected that by the year 2030 Muslims will be 26% of global
population. A total of 2.2 Billion people.*
• Half of the global Muslim population is projected to be below the age of 30
by the year 2030.*
• These youth will be Digital natives who are born using the internet and the
most modern digital platforms.
• What types of financial services will Islamic institutions offer them?
• Will they be won over by conventional banks?
* Source: “The Future of the Global Muslim Population” Pew Research, January 2011

13. Cont.
• Just as conventional fintech companies are leveraging on banks to get
the assistance in matters of having a regulated entity to handle
backend services and sharing licenses in order to scale faster, Islamic
fintech companies and Islamic banks must form the same types of
collaborations.
• A huge amount of Muslim talent is parked in various parts of the
world as a result of the “Brain Drain” trend. These people have great
talents and work for some of the biggest companies in the world. If
the leaders of the Islamic finance industry as well as the local
regulators give strong support to Islamic fintech, this talent can be
won back.

14. Malaysia’s Fintech Landscape
Source:
Malaysia Fintech report
2018

15. Malaysia’s Fintech Landscape

16. Part 5: Value Proposition of
Fintech for Islamic Finance

17. A Hope for the Future
• Since the beginning of Islamic finance in the 70’s it’s always been
about how to navigate the Riba system and cut out an Islamic
Solution.
• Fintech is a new slate and a platform where what matters for success
is the quality of the idea and the execution.
• The rules are being written now, so now is the best time to
experiment, create and Innovate.
• This is the chance to create high quality Islamic financial services for
the next generation and the masses.

18. A Chance to Compete
• The incumbent banks are already DEEPLY involved with fintech.
• Islamic banks have always been small players, but with fintech the
playing ground can be levelled.
• Muslims have the fastest growing population

19. Thank You
Ahmad Sabree
+60173912057
asabree@gmail.com