The Responsible Finance Summit was hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia at Sasana kijang, the iconic center of thought and leadership in Islamic finance. Organized by the RFI Foundation and (co-organized by) Middle East Global Advisors, the summit supported the agenda of sustainable and inclusive economy and connections within the broader responsible finance industry.
This Summit brought together key stakeholders from the traditional responsible and Islamic finance sectors to build connections to support rapid growth and increase the measurable impact of the industry. It played a vital role in enabling representatives from across the responsible finance industry to develop new relationships to build cooperation across sectors with a key focus on building the presence of responsible finance in the emerging markets across the Islamic crescent from Morocco to Indonesia.
The global responsible finance industry represents almost a third of all financial assets, but it is dominated by institutions and assets invested within developed markets. As the industry continues its journey towards a wider global adoption, it needs a concerted effort to build bridges between the two areas of the Responsible Finance: one segment which integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and Islamic finance. This will enable responsible finance to contribute significantly to expand its impact and widen its geographical footprint around the world, particularly in Muslim majority emerging markets.
In a press release distributed on February 11, 2015 the Responsible Finance Summit announced the support of the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) for the Summit. The Summit, hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia, included the participation of ISRA’s Executive Director Prof. Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin, who joined a panel session on the popular perceptions about responsible finance and how Islamic finance can contribute to expanding its appeal to a wider audience.
Professor Laldin commented: “We are delighted to support this groundbreaking Summit which aligns well with our work in applied research on Islamic finance. We look forward to hearing diverse perspectives from other forms of responsible finance that support Islamic financial institutions aligning their practices more closely with principles of positive impact rooted in Shari’ah.”