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Islamic banking or Islamic finance or sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with sharia and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some of the modes of Islamic banking/finance include Mudarabah, Wadiah (safekeeping), Musharaka, Murabahah (cost-plus), and Ijara (leasing).
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment, or a verifiable credit history. It is designed to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty. Many recipients are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million people held microloans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 percent.
Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems, among other services. Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually poorer population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient.
Opportunity International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is working to end global poverty by creating and sustaining jobs. Through a network of 47 program and support partners, Opportunity provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to more than 14 million people in the developing world. It has clients in more than 20 countries and works with fundraising partners in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Opportunity International has 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt charitable organization in the United States of America under the US Internal Revenue Code.
The World Council of Credit Unions is the leading international trade association and development agency for credit unions and cooperative financial institutions. World Council promotes the self-sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations, and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.
Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) is a microfinancing agency of the Aga Khan Development Network.
Murabaḥah, murabaḥa, or murâbaḥah was originally a term of fiqh for a sales contract where the buyer and seller agree on the markup (profit) or "cost-plus" price for the item(s) being sold. In recent decades it has become a term for a very common form of Islamic financing, where the price is marked up in exchange for allowing the buyer to pay over time—for example with monthly payments. Murabaha financing is similar to a rent-to-own arrangement in the non-Muslim world, with the intermediary retaining ownership of the item being sold until the loan is paid in full. There are also Islamic investment funds and sukuk that use murabahah contracts.
FINCA International is a non-profit, microfinance organization, founded by John Hatch in 1984. FINCA is the innovator of the village banking methodology in microcredit and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern-day microfinance. With its headquarters in Washington, D.C., FINCA is considered to be one of the most influential microfinance organizations in the world.
Village banking is a microcredit methodology whereby financial services are administered locally rather than centralized in a formal bank. Village banking has its roots in ancient cultures and was most recently adopted for use by micro-finance institutions (MFIs) as a way to control costs. Early MFI village banking methods were innovated by Grameen Bank and then later developed by groups such as FINCA International founder John Hatch. Among US-based non-profit agencies there are at least 31 microfinance institutions (MFIs) that have collectively created over 800 village banking programs in at least 90 countries. And in many of these countries there are host-country MFIs—sometimes dozens—that are village banking practitioners as well.
Dr. John Keith Hatch is an American economic development expert and a pioneer in modern-day microfinance. He is the founder of FINCA International and the Rural Development Services (RDS), and is famous for innovating village banking, arguably the world’s most widely imitated microfinance methodology.
Khaleeji Commercial Bank BSC (KHCB) is an Islamic bank, headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and operating under a Retail Islamic Banking license granted by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). It is a Public Bahraini Shareholding Company listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. KHCB offers a range of banking and Investment products and services to high-net-worth individuals, corporate entities, and financial institutions. These include commercial and corporate banking, wealth management, structured investment products and project financing facilities.
Wokai was an organization that allowed people to contribute directly to microfinance institutions in China, which in turn lend the money to entrepreneurs in rural China. It was a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Oakland, California, with core operations in Beijing, supported by individual donors, corporate sponsors, fundraising events and grants. As of May 2012, Wokai concluded operations due to funding roadblocks and the need for a new CEO.
Women's World Banking is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic support, technical assistance and information to a global network of 55 independent microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks that offer credit and other financial services to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world, with a particular focus on women. The Women's World Banking network serves 24 million micro-entrepreneurs in 32 countries worldwide, of which 80 percent are women. It is the largest global network of microfinance institutions and banks in terms of number of clients, and the only one that explicitly designates poor women as the focus of its mission.
Banking or banking activity that complies with sharia —known as Islamic banking and finance, or shariah-compliant finance—has its own products, services and contracts that differ from conventional banking. Some of these include Mudharabah, Wadiah (safekeeping), Musharakah, Murabahah, Ijar (leasing), Hawala, Takaful, and Sukuk.
Water supply in Afghanistan is managed by the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA), which is based in Kabul, Afghanistan. The nation's water supply is characterized by a number of achievements and challenges. Among the achievements are:
Bai Salam is an Islamic contract in which full payment is made in advance for specific goods to be delivered at a future date. It is necessary that the quality of the commodity intended to be purchased is fully specified leaving no ambiguity leading to dispute. Bai salam covers almost every thing which is capable of being definitely described as to quality, quantity and workmanship. For Islamic banks this product is an ideal for Agriculture financing but can also be used to finance the working capital needs to the business customer. It is one of the most popular Islamic Modes of finance used by banks in Islamic countries to promote riba-free transactions.
Profit and Loss Sharing (also called PLS or "participatory" banking is a method of finance used by Islamic financial or Shariah-compliant institutions to comply with the religious prohibition on interest on loans that most Muslims subscribe to. Many sources state there are two varieties of profit and loss sharing used by Islamic banks – Mudarabah and Musharakah. Other sources include sukuk and direct equity investment as types of PLS.
The Islamic banking and finance movement that developed in the late 20th century as part of the revival of Islamic identity sought to create an alternative to conventional banking that complied with sharia (Islamic) law. Following sharia it banned from its practices riba (usury) – which it defined as any interest paid on all loans of money – and involvement in haram (forbidden) goods or services such as pork or alcohol. It also forbids gambling (maisir) and excessive risk.
Islamic banking and finance — the industry built around avoiding interest and other financial practices found in violation of sharia — has been both praised and criticized by observers.
Kashf Foundation is a non-profit organization, founded by Roshaneh Zafar in 1996. Kashf is regarded as the first microfinance institution (MFI) of Pakistan that uses village banking methodology in microcredit to alleviate poverty by providing affordable financial and non-financial services to low income households - particularly for women, to build their capacity and enhance their economic role. With headquarters in Lahore, Punjab, Kashf has regional offices in five major cities and over 200 branches across the Pakistan.
References
- ↑ "Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan's website, September 16, 2003". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- ↑ "Afghanistan page on FINCA International's website" . Retrieved 2009-05-26.
- ↑ "FINCA International to Expand Rural Microfinance Program in Afghanistan" . Retrieved 2007-04-24.