An interview with Shakeeb Saqlain, banker turned entrepreneur and CEO of IslamicBanker.com, an industry platform for the global Islamic finance market.

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B&F: Shakeeb you’ve had a long
career in both conventional and
Islamic banking. Can you share some
of your career learnings that led to
the birth of islamicbanker.com?
Shakeeb: I started my career at
Bloomberg, shortly after leaving
university. Here, I gained invaluable
experience of how financial markets
work and learned the ropes of the
information industry. At the same
time I got a glimpse of Bloomberg’s
legendary customer service teams –
understanding first-hand the art of
I moved on to join the world’s first
Islamic bank – Dubai Islamic Bank –
working in treasury sales with some
of the leading practitioners around the
globe and managing large corporate
and government clients.
This was the point at which I had
my first great realisation. The
Islamic finance industry is extremely
fragmented, where information is not
easily accessible and collaboration
between professionals on a global
level is limited. I knew that this
would have a substantial impact
on the real economy, restricting
opportunities for private firms to
start up and grow, create jobs, and
spur innovation, hindering overall
economic development. It was from
this realisation that IslamicBanker.
com was born.
B&F: You’ve worked in the UK and
the UAE; could you describe some of
the differences in working practices
between them?
Shakeeb: What really makes the
UAE quite unique is its world-class
infrastructure and skilled talent
pool. Dubai’s vision of becoming a
capital of the Islamic economy will
provide further momentum to the
Islamic banking industry. Behind all
the glamour there is a real business
culture here which makes it a special
place for exploring new opportunities.
Dubai also has a real depth of talent,
when it comes to Islamic banking,
compared to other cities. This
provided me a real opportunity in
developing my career in the industry.
B&F: If you could wind back your
career and perform some fine tuning,
where would you wind back to and
what would you do differently?
Shakeeb: Working in the
information industry in the
conventional banking to start with
and then in Islamic banking has
given me a unique insight into the
world of information and finance.
This experience is at the essence of
IslamicBanker.com, as a brand –
where through the data, information
and tools platform, all readily
available at one point, we transforms
how Islamic financial markets engage
with information and collaborate.
If I could wind the clock back and fine
tune I would probably go back to my
university days and spend a bit more
time on learning how to code and
develop my programming skills.
B&F: Tell me the islamicbanker.com
story.
Shakeeb: IslamicBanker.com is a
founder-led team that truly believes
in the power of collaboration and
insightful information.
Founded in the summer of 2009, in
the city of London, and developed
extensively in the Middle East since
2010, our platform brings together
professionals from around the world,
with one simple aim: to create
powerful analytics and visualisation
tools, with strategic and timely
insights by leading thought leaders,
dedicated to Islamic finance and
OIC (Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation) countries.
Today we have over 20,000 members
who are a vibrant community of
professionals, scholars, researchers
and students from around the world.
A central part of this ecosystem is the
sharing of ideas and good practice
within the global Islamic finance
industry and OIC countries. We work
closely with some of the leading
industry bodies including INCEIF,
World Islamic Economic Forum,
Young Leaders Network (WYN),
University of Nottingham (Malaysia
From Banker to
Entrepreneur:
An interview with Shakeeb Saqlain, banker-turned-
entrepreneur and CEO of IslamicBanker.com, an industry
platform for the global Islamic finance market.
providing the best customer service in
financial information services.
Not too long after, I had an
opportunity of working at Morgan
Stanley Prime Brokerage in London,
where I spent three amazing years
learning the ins and outs of banking.
Around the time I joined Morgan
Stanley, the bank announced that
it was entering the Islamic finance
market – setting up a small team
based in Dubai. It was at this stage,
I also started to learn more about
the Islamic finance industry and
undertook the Islamic Finance
Qualification (IFQ).
Campus), and more.
B&F: What is the work culture at
IslamicBanker.com and how is that
helping the brand deliver tangible
value to people?
Shakeeb: IslamicBanker.com is a
customer-focused company with the
objective of delivering breakthrough
information, to our community,
which leads to collaborative
ventures. Our culture is built upon
our core values of building strong
relationships, teamwork, integrity,
communication and excellence. We
strongly believe the success of our
business depends on our adherence
to these principles, and we take this
responsibility seriously by ensuring,
at all times, that the IslamicBanker.
com team engages our community
from these value points in order to
deliver the information and tools
required by our customers.
B&F: In ending, what take-ways
would you give to us?
Shakeeb: Develop a mind-set
of a craftsman – Success is about
quality and dedication. In today’s
information overload times, we
all want instant answers and
immediate solutions. But we need to
learn that to master anything takes
time and patience.
Learn to go beyond your comfort
zone: We’ve all been there, where
you have a job that pays the bills
and keeps things ticking along.
But as soon as you stop learning
and developing, that’s when you
have a serious problem. Challenge
yourself (and this does not just
have to be in work).
Sustainable businesses: New
companies are formed not to just
make stuff, but to build sustainable
businesses. Always think about
the impact your company has on
wider society. By contributing and
developing the people of your brand’s
community you would be building
sustainability for your business. With
sustainability, profitability comes
hand-in-hand.
Put people first: Business today is
all about people. The IslamicBanker.
com team is a group of people with
a common belief and delivering to
a group of people. By recognising
and taking on board my team’s
perspective and aligning our
individual values with that of the
IslamicBanker.com brand we are able
to communicate our services very
well to the respective members of our
brand community.
About the Author:
Joy Abdullah is the Head of
Marketing & Communication at
INCEIF - The Global University
of Islamic Finance and writes on
ethical brand marketing, strategic
brand management, brand
reputation management, brand
risk, employee-brand relationship
and sustainable business
strategies.
Riding the Winds of Change in Islamic Banking
ISLAMIC FINANCE