Maximising Islamic Finance for Financial Inclusion
It is estimated that about 1.7 billion people, accounting for one-third of the world's adult population, have no access to formal financial services and most of them live in developing countries. According to Findex, 72% of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries' population is unbanked, which is considerably higher than the global average.
Considering that financial inclusion is necessary to rebuild economies after COVID-19, it is crucial that there is greater access and liquidity support to financial services. Although the industry has experienced substantial growth over the past two decades, there is a new potential to substantially expand access to Islamic financial services through the use of innovative, FinTech-based solutions and even including the Islamic social finance.
Against this background, the session of the Sustainable and Inclusive Finance Forum will explore the use of Islamic finance schemes, instruments and regulations to support financial inclusion, thereby contributing to the fight against poverty and fostering shared prosperity including the impacts of Covid-19 to the less developed economies. It will explore policy, regulatory and institutional elements required for the sustainable use of Islamic finance to expand access to financial services.
The Webinar will be delivered in collaboration with the World Bank.
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