Webinar discusses sustainability of Islamic Finance in COVID-19 period
Several countries around the world are gradually opening up workplaces with a view to breathe fresh life into their respective economies, which have suffered in a manner not witnessed for over a century.
Even the best laid plans would not have anticipated an impact of the magnitude that has been witnessed over the past few months. The resuscitation of businesses and the economy, in general, is no mean task and it requires an effort of herculean proportions.
The impact on the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) sector, which contributes in no small measure to the GDP of the country, requires special attention. Its revival is critical to the economy and recent industry first webinar titled ‘Sustainability of Islamic Finance in a Covid-19 Era’ organised by UTO Educonsult with key event partner, CLC Islamic Finance, was indeed a timely one.
The core area of discussion was the impact of Covid-19 on the SME sector and what the IBF industry could offer in order to support IT.CLC Islamic Finance is a part of a growing sector of IFIS, belonging to the behemoth, the LOLC Group of companies. The webinar was held on Zoom, as well as streamed live on Facebook.
The panel consisted of several personalities in the field of Islamic Finance; Ash Sheikh Rizvi Mufti, President of the ACJU, Krishan Thilakaratne, Director and CEO of Commercial Leasing and former President of Finance House Association, Ash Sheikh Murshid Mulaffer, Assistant Secretary-general of ACJU and member of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board of CLC, Ishrat Rauff, Group MD and CEO of Adl Capital, and Ilsam Awfer, Manager and Head of the Islamic Business Division of CLC. The panel was ably moderated by Mafaz Ishaq, Venture Capitalist and Angel Investor in a variety of industries.
Participants tuned in from around the world to the first webinar of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka. The number of registered participants and the ‘views’ on FB, even post-event was testament to the interest in one of the most dynamic areas of Finance.
Krishan Thilakaratne commenced proceedings with an exhaustive and informative description of how the NBFI sector has responded to the needs of the SME sector. The moratoriums as well as the Central Bank guidelines were clearly articulated to those in attendance.
He expressed his views that NBFI sector has managed the crisis well with the regulator during past 03 months and highlighted the fact CLC strategized to achieve their business objectives during the pandemic period.krishan Thilakaratne also opined that the rapid movement of finance into the digital spectrum will probably be the way forward. Rizvi Mufti spoke at length on some of the more spiritual aspects of trading, tracing its history from the advent of Islam. Murshid Moulavi complemented this by eloquently elaborating on very specific areas germane to the current situation. He spoke at length on the measures that could be taken to help businesses that were in dire need of assistance.
His insights into the manner in which moratoriums dovetailed with existing products offered by the IBF community was most reassuring, as was evident from some of the comments of the viewing audience. He also spoke about the manner in which scholars from across the world had arrived at a consensus on a plethora of issues that impacted the IBF industry.
Ilsam Awfer focussed his speech on CLC’S strategy in helping their customers. His team of executives had rendered yeoman service to its clients on a wide gamut of issues, a fact that has been well received by its clientele. He also noted that, while IFIS require the support of the government and the regulators, Islamic finance should be given the space and freedom to develop.
While many businesses and industries were affected, those that rebounded were those that responded quickest to the situation in many cases. Some even re-engineered their entire business model, moving away from their core businesses. These were some of the observations of Ishrat Rauff, who cited specific examples of businesses that were able to ‘pivot’ to an entirely new trajectory. He also spoke about the need to take a cue from several countries in the setting up of special Fund, based on the concept of profit sharing, possibly funded and overseen by some of the largest IFIS in the country, committing even a miniscule proportion of their assets towards an area that has been largely ignored amongst the flurry of other products and services that have dotted the financial landscape.
For a vast majority of people, the concepts of Islamic finance are still alien and the webinar prompted calls further information on the subject matter.