Vineeta Tan

New York-headquartered Islamic robo-advisor Wahed has officially expanded into the UAE, having secured a financial services permission (FSP) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).  

SME digital finance platform Funding Societies has partnered with Malaysia’s Halal Development Corporation (HDC) to improve the Halal sector’s access to Shariah compliant digital financing facilities.

Islamic fintech start-up Tamara is yet another Saudi start-up which has captured the interest of global investors evident by its latest funding round.

Brighsun EV Group, an Australian firm focusing on new energy technology, has issued the 2UT STO token, a Shariah compliant security token also known as RAMZ.

Ouch!, the only insurtech start-up in Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)’s regulatory sandbox with a Takaful proposition, is looking to introduce a new product hopefully in 2024, according to CEO Shazy Noorazman.

Saudi Islamic fintech start-up LYNK has raised an undisclosed amount of investment which it will use to develop new products and expand its geographical footprint.

Malaysia-based Fusang Exchange has detokenized its first listed digital sovereign-linked Sukuk, completing a proof-of-concept (PoC) which could pave the way for greater enhancement to the tokenization of institutional Sukuk.

The Islamic finance industry has welcomed its first Islamic fintech unicorn, Tabby, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform as the Middle Eastern firm secured a US$200 million Series D funding.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), one of the largest Islamic banks in the world, has introduced a Shariah compliant digital bank, said to be the first in the State.

As part of the country’s ambitious economic diversification ambition, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) intends to take advantage of distributed ledger technology (DLT) through its newly minted Digital Assets Lab to bolster its financial sector in a bid to anchor itself as an international financial and commercial hub by 2030.

Driven by the demand in Saudi Arabia, crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) issuer 21Shares has secured Shariah approvals for two of its ETPs.

KadiPay has received approval from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to provide buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solutions, bringing the number of authorized BNPL service providers in the Kingdom to six.

Blockchain-based Takaful insurance platform Takadao has raised US$1.6 million in pre-seed funding, in a round led by Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper through Draper Associates.

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has approved Bank Alfalah's plan to acquire a 7.2% stake in Shariah compliant buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech start-up Qist Bazaar in a PKR140 million (US$502,950) deal, marking the lender’s foray into the venture capital space.

Indonesian Islamic challenger bank Hijra is working on multiple new offerings including a cash Waqf-linked deposit product and a P2P Qard-based offering, Group CEO Dima Djani tells IFN Fintech.

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has issued its regulation on loan-based crowdfunding, paving the way for P2P lenders to enter the market.

Following its expansion into Saudi Arabia, Capifly, a Jordan-based provider of non-dilutive Shariah compliant venture capital to technology start-ups, confirms it has raised US$1 million in pre-seed funding. It is also in the advanced stages of setting up a US$10 million non-dilutive capital facility.

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is investigating a potential breach of regulations by a Dubai firm marketing the Islamic Coin (ISLM) token.

Liberty Finance, a decentralized exchange seeking to tap the Muslim community with Halal offerings, has been accepted into Genius X Accelerator & Launchpad.

Arsalaan (Oz) Ahmed, CEO of Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM), who spearheaded the Islamic bank’s digital bank proposition, has left his role to pursue his “personal ambition in the fintech and social finance space”.

Dubai-based Islamic buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company Tabby will be relocating its headquarters to Saudi Arabia ahead of its IPO on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).

Saudi Arabia is more than doubling its target for fintech companies as it is on track to achieve its initial goal years ahead of its 2030 deadline, underscoring the Islamic finance giant’s phenomenal progress toward anchoring itself as a global fintech hub.

After being unexpectedly delisted from an exchange in the first half of the year, CAIZcoin is preparing to go public again, this time on over 30 exchanges, it said.

Islamic Coin, the native currency of blockchain network HAQQ, has signed an MoU with CoinDesk Indices (CDI) to explore developing Shariah compliant crypto benchmarks for the MENA region.