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self-reliance

A collection of 49 posts

IsDB Group and IFSB sign a framework tying standard-setting to development finance

IsDB Group and IFSB sign a framework tying standard-setting to development finance

The Islamic Development Bank Group and the Islamic Financial Services Board formalised a Strategic Collaboration Framework in Bangkok on 13 October 2026, on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings. It was signed by IsDB Vice President of Operations Dr. Rami Ahmad and IFSB Secretary-General Dr.

Nigeria's Ummah Zakat Foundation launches EasyZakat to calculate, collect and track zakat

Nigeria's Ummah Zakat Foundation launches EasyZakat to calculate, collect and track zakat

Nigeria's Ummah Zakat Foundation announced that it would inaugurate its Board of Trustees and unveil its EasyZakat digital platform at the National Mosque auditorium in Abuja, with the Sultan of Sokoto as special guest of honour. The foundation describes itself as a faith-inspired non-profit that uses zakat, sadaqah

Bahrain licenses a stablecoin issuer and writes a standard for it

Bahrain licenses a stablecoin issuer and writes a standard for it

The Central Bank of Bahrain has introduced regulations for stablecoin issuers that build in Sharia compliance requirements. Fitch Ratings called the framework pioneering, citing explicit references to AAOIFI standards and mandatory independent Sharia advisers. The rules cover fiat-backed tokens in dinar, dollars and other currencies, and require transparent treatment of

Bangladesh signs a billion-dollar IsDB facility to rebuild its only oil refinery

Bangladesh signs a billion-dollar IsDB facility to rebuild its only oil refinery

On 3 September 2026 Bangladesh and the Islamic Development Bank signed a US$1 billion financing agreement for the modernisation and expansion of the Eastern Refinery. The total project is US$2.5 billion, with the IsDB loan matched by US$1.5 billion from Bangladesh through taxes and duties.

The Waqf Fund buys a £1.9m Solihull high-street property to fund charity from rent

The Waqf Fund buys a £1.9m Solihull high-street property to fund charity from rent

The Waqf Fund, a registered charity subsidiary of Human Appeal, completed its fourth UK property acquisition in under two years on 15 September: a £1.9 million freehold retail unit on Solihull High Street, leased to a Danish homeware retailer with more than 70 UK stores. The rent is projected

The world's largest halal trade show gives AI its own sector for the first time

The world's largest halal trade show gives AI its own sector for the first time

The 22nd Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), the world's largest dedicated halal trade show, ran 23–26 September at MITEC in Kuala Lumpur under the theme "Shaping Trust, Driving Resilience." Organised by MATRADE under Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, the

UNICEF and IsDB launch the first global fund built on Muslim philanthropy for children

UNICEF and IsDB launch the first global fund built on Muslim philanthropy for children

UNICEF and the Islamic Development Bank launched the Global Muslim Philanthropy Fund for Children, the first UN-led Muslim philanthropy fund run in partnership with a multilateral development bank. The fund channels zakat, sadaqah and waqf — classical Islamic giving instruments, with global annual zakat alone estimated at up to

A Qatari endowment designed to build a new endowment out of its own returns each year

A Qatari endowment designed to build a new endowment out of its own returns each year

Qatar's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has received a QR2 million donation for Waqf Al Wuqoof, an endowment structured to fund a new endowment out of its own returns every year rather than distributing profit to beneficiaries directly. Housed under the ministry's wider Waqf for

Global sukuk outstanding crosses one trillion dollars for the first time

Global sukuk outstanding crosses one trillion dollars for the first time

Global sukuk outstanding passed the trillion-dollar mark in 2025 for the first time, reaching $1.015 trillion combined across international ($280.6bn) and domestic ($734.9bn) markets, according to IIFM's fifteenth annual Sukuk Report. Total issuance for the year came to $262.9bn, up 28.2% on 2024

A waqf is built to fund mosque security and support affected families

A waqf is built to fund mosque security and support affected families

The North American Islamic Trust, the US custodian of mosque and Islamic-school property deeds since 1973, has launched the Resilience and Protection Waqf -- a proposed multi-million-dollar endowment to fund security training, physical protection upgrades and support for families affected by anti-Muslim violence. NAIT is matching public donations dollar-for-dollar up

The Islamic Development Bank prices a second billion-and-a-half sukuk on ordinary terms

The Islamic Development Bank prices a second billion-and-a-half sukuk on ordinary terms

On 2 September the Islamic Development Bank priced US$1.5 billion of five-year trust certificates, its second benchmark sukuk of 2026, under its US$25 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme. The transaction closed at 48 basis points over SOFR mid-swaps, two basis points inside initial guidance, at par, with

Pakistan raises Rs144.15bn in a Hybrid Sukuk auction, pricing a 10-year variable-rate tranche

Pakistan raises Rs144.15bn in a Hybrid Sukuk auction, pricing a 10-year variable-rate tranche

Pakistan's Ministry of Finance raised Rs144.153bn through a Government of Pakistan Hybrid Sukuk auction held at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on 19 August 2026. Demand ran far ahead of the amount taken: total bids reached Rs573.007bn in face value, with a realised bid value of Rs553.

Riyad Bank's Tier 1 sukuk draws SAR13.6bn and is upsized to SAR10bn

Riyad Bank's Tier 1 sukuk draws SAR13.6bn and is upsized to SAR10bn

Riyad Bank closed the public offering of its Saudi-riyal Additional Tier 1 capital sukuk with total subscriptions of SAR13.6bn against an original SAR5bn target, roughly 2.7 times covered, and doubled the issuance to SAR10bn in response. The certificates are perpetual, offered at a 6.5% profit rate, issued

Islamic Development Bank Institute signs a grant to build an Islamic banking window in the Maghreb

Islamic Development Bank Institute signs a grant to build an Islamic banking window in the Maghreb

The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) and Morocco's Maghreb Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (BMICE) signed a grant agreement in Jeddah on August 12 to help BMICE stand up its own Islamic finance window. The agreement funds technical assistance rather than capital: IsDB Institute will work with

Qatar's Awqaf registers a 58,988-share endowment under its 'Waqf Al-Wuqoof' initiative

Qatar's Awqaf registers a 58,988-share endowment under its 'Waqf Al-Wuqoof' initiative

Qatar's General Directorate of Endowments has registered a new investment endowment of 58,988 shares in companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange, donated under the ministry's 'Waqf Al-Wuqoof' -- Endowment of Endowments -- initiative. It is the first such gift on record for

A routine Bahraini sukuk auction draws 264% oversubscription

A routine Bahraini sukuk auction draws 264% oversubscription

The Central Bank of Bahrain's monthly Sukuk Al-Salam issue -- the 304th in the short-term series -- was oversubscribed by 264 percent in August, with BD132.209 million in subscriptions received against a BD50 million offering. The 91-day securities, running from 12 August to 11 November 2026, carry

Saudi Arabia's debt agency raises $2.54bn in a five-tranche August sukuk sale

Saudi Arabia's debt agency raises $2.54bn in a five-tranche August sukuk sale

Saudi Arabia's National Debt Management Center closed its August sukuk issuance at SAR9.52 billion ($2.54 billion), spread across five tranches maturing between 2031 and 2041 -- a 78 percent jump from July's issuance. The sale is the routine mechanics of a debt program that

Uzbekistan explores building a waqf system with UNDP and the Islamic Development Bank

Uzbekistan explores building a waqf system with UNDP and the Islamic Development Bank

On 3 August 2026, UNDP convened a round table with Uzbekistan's Committee on Religious Affairs and the Islamic Development Bank to discuss findings on building a formal waqf system for the country. The session sits inside a joint initiative — "Developing the Enabling Environment for AWQAF in Uzbekistan&

Indonesia's exchange lists its first Shariah-compliant gold ETFs

Indonesia's exchange lists its first Shariah-compliant gold ETFs

Five Indonesian asset managers listed Shariah-compliant, gold-backed ETFs on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on August 10, under a fatwa from the National Sharia Board of the Indonesian Ulema Council (DSN-MUI). Each unit is backed by physical gold held via Electronic Gold Receipts at the central depository, giving retail investors exchange-traded

MENA startup funding holds at $1.7bn in H1 2026, down 18% year on year

MENA startup funding holds at $1.7bn in H1 2026, down 18% year on year

MENA startups raised $1.7 billion across 242 funding rounds in the first half of 2026, an 18 percent decline from $2.1 billion a year earlier, as investors grew more selective under regional geopolitical uncertainty rather than retreating outright, according to Wamda's H1 2026 report. The UAE

GCC sukuk issuance rises 13.1% despite regional conflict concerns

GCC sukuk issuance rises 13.1% despite regional conflict concerns

Sukuk issuance across the Gulf Cooperation Council rose 13.1 percent in the first four months of 2026, driven by strong local-currency borrowing in Saudi Arabia, according to S&P Global Ratings' report "Islamic Finance 2026-2027: Navigating Rough Waters." Global sukuk issuance rose 20 percent over

Pakistan's sukuk auction is now routine, and that's the story

Pakistan's sukuk auction is now routine, and that's the story

On August 5, Pakistan's finance ministry ran the 14th auction in a hybrid sukuk calendar it began only this year, targeting Rs125 billion and drawing bids worth Rs757 billion, more than six times oversubscribed. The government accepted Rs171 billion, split between short-dated fixed-rate paper and a reopened ten-year

Pakistan raises Rs239.3bn in its first-ever hybrid sukuk auction

Pakistan raises Rs239.3bn in its first-ever hybrid sukuk auction

On July 22, Pakistan's finance ministry ran its first auction of a short-term hybrid sukuk, a new Shariah-compliant instrument spanning three-month, six-month, one-year, and ten-year tenors. Bids came in at a face value of Rs770 billion against a target of roughly a quarter of that, and the ministry

Burjeel prices a $500m debut sukuk backed by medical equipment

Burjeel prices a $500m debut sukuk backed by medical equipment

Burjeel Holdings priced its inaugural $500 million sukuk in late June under a newly established $1.5 billion programme, with Clifford Chance advising — the firm's global Islamic finance team led from Dubai. The structure matters more than the headline: the certificates are backed by a pool of medical-equipment

Bangladesh's sukuk boom hasn't built a real Islamic capital market

Bangladesh's sukuk boom hasn't built a real Islamic capital market

Bangladesh's sovereign sukuk programme has raised roughly Tk 53,000 crore since its first issue in December 2020, and a Daily Star analysis (reported by IANS on 1 July) argues it has still failed to build a real Islamic capital market. The critique is structural: nearly every issue