IslamicFinance.de

The confluence of two strongly expanding industries, microfinance and Islamic finance, has seen rapid growth in the past years on the grounds that, according to banking studies, an estimated 70% of people living in Muslim-majority countries do not use formal financial services. As a result, Islamic microfinance is becoming an important instrument to fight the poverty among Muslims, especially in rural areas, and improve access to financial services. Islamic microfinance is expected to grow fast at a rate of 19.7% annually over the period 2014 to 2018. But so far, Islamic microfinance is centred on just a few countries. However, in the recent past demand has also grown in countries such as Jordan, Algeria, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen among others.