Meet The Authors
Dr. Kinan Salim
INCEIF, The Global University of Islamic Finance
Dr. Kinan is an Assistant Professor and Head of Islamic Digital Economy at INCEIF. He serves as an consultant on Islamic fintech and sustainable finance and provides services to leading financial institutions and fintech startups in South East Asia and Middle East. Early in his career, he served as Head of Corporate Finance in Cham Islamic Bank. With a strong Economics background and industry experience, Dr Kinan converges theory with best practices in his research and consultancy projects that are focusing mostly on designing frameworks and providing capacity building for innovative policies and products for Islamic fintech, sustainable finance and financial inclusion. He can be contacted at: kinan@inceif.org
Dr. Moutaz Abojeib
International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA)
Dr Moutaz is a researcher at Research Development & Innovation Department at ISRA. He is currently taking a leading position in ISRA Blockchain project to strengthen the Shariah compliance of Islamic social finance institutions. He is also participating in several Islamic fintech projects. He has published several papers on Islamic fintech and participated as a speaker in several relevant events including AAOIFI Annual Shariah Boards conference. Dr Moutaz has clocked up 15 years of work experience in finance, research, training and consultancy, in which he has conducted more than 50 capacity building programs in different jurisdictions and delivered several consultancy projects. This includes his service at several European Investment Bank projects in the MENA region, and his work in the area of internal audit and Islamic microfinance. He can be contacted at: moutaz@isra.my
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Baharom Abdul Hamid
INCEIF, The Global University of Islamic Finance
Dr. Baharom is an Associate Professor and Director of the Research Management Centre (RMC) at INCEIF. He is an active researcher focusing on applied macro studies on non-niche economic areas and new horizons of research in applied economics with strong interest in the Economics of Crime, Natural Disasters and Military Expenditure. Dr. Baharom has published more than 100 journal articles in well-recognized journals, received numerous best paper awards, and has led many high impact consultancy projects. He is a renowned speaker and influencer. He is a strong advocate of Islamic fintech through his support of young entrepreneurs. In fact, Dr. Baharom was the key person behind InnoFest, one of the first Islamic fintech pitching events. He can be contacted at: baharom@inceif.org
Contributors
Ahmad Abdur-Raheem Sabree
Shariyah Review Bureau
Ahmad Sabree is a Shariah auditor for Islamic fintech and asset management at Shariyah Review Bureau, Bahrain. He is also an Islamic fintech expert with experience dealing with Islamic fintech companies in the Middle East and Asia. He has nearly 5 years experience in Islamic fintech and was part of the initial core team of EthisCrowd Malaysia.
Dr. Ahmed Mabrouk
SKILIK Robo Advisory
Dr. Ahmed Mabrouk is a professor of artificial intelligence and an author in Islamic finance and Islamic philosophy of science. He holds a PhD degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and thirty years work experience in industry and academia in US, Canada, and Malaysia.
Alda Percy Bin Abdul Aziz
Etiqa Digital Solutions
Alda is the Head of Finance at Etiqa Digital Solutions. He has work experience in the financial services and insurance/takaful industry leading projects in the areas of digitalization and innovation.
Amran Bin Hassan
Etiqa Digital Solution
Amran Bin Hassan is CEO of Etiqa Digital Solutions Sdn Bhd and formerly Head of Maybank Corporate Development & Innovation (CDI). Prior to joining Maybank in 2012, Amran was a Partner at Technology Consulting (Malaysia) & Infrastructure (Southeast Asia) at Accenture Malaysia.
Tengku Arief Mubiin bin Tengku Abdul Aziz
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
Tengku Arief Mubiin is currently a Senior Executive from the Fintech & Islamic Digital Economy division at MDEC, tasked to lead the growth and development of the fintech ecosystem in Malaysia. He is a recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Award for bachelor’s degree in International Business from Universiti Te knologi MARA.
Dr. Azrul Azlan Iskandar Mirza
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
Dr. Azrul is a Shariah advisor for various Islamic financial institutions including Islamic banks, takaful operators, asset management companies and government agencies. Dr. Azrul is also a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Economy & Muamalat, USIM. He is also actively involved in technical committees, research, publication and consultation related to Islamic finance and Islamic fintech.
Tunku Danny Nasaifuddin Mudzaffar
microLEAP PLT
Tunku Danny is a founder and CEO of microLEAP. He is an ex-banker having held senior positions at two international banks in Kuala Lumpur and London. He has 15 years of financial services experience and brought all the knowledge and skills he learnt from lending into his P2P micro financing start-up, microLEAP. Tunku Danny holds an MBA from the Nottingham University Business School.
Ellya Masriq Ahmad Sani
Independent Expert in Technopreneurship Finance Policy
Ellya Masriq is an expert in technopreneurship finance policy. He is also a PhD scholar in Islamic Finance. He has previous work experience at the Fund Division, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia (MOSTI) with extensive involvement in R&D commercialization and funding policy.
Mufti Faraz Adam
Amanah Advisors
Faraz is the Executive Director of Amanah Advisors. He is a Sharia advisor at various Islamic financial institutions and fintech institutions across the world. He has a keen interest in Islamic fintech and has recently published a book on the subject matter titled; ‘Introduction to Islamic Fintech’. He has an undergraduate in Islamic Studies and a Master’s degree in Islamic Finance and Banking.
Hamid Rashid
Finterra Technologies
Hamid is the Founder of Finterra and responsible for developing the WAQF Blockchain (WaqfChain). Hamid has over eighteen years of technology consulting experience in Enterprise Software Business Management and Business Development. He is a specialist in technology IP development, technology commercialization, venture capital investment and property investments with a record of extensive work experience.
Hassan Azganin
Islamic Fintech Advisor
Hassan is a trainer and advisor for different global waqf and fintech institutions in the Middle East and Africa. He has work experience in several Islamic fintech startups including Ethis and Finterra. Currently, Hassan is currently pursuing his PhD on Waqf agriculture & fintech.
Katherine Lim
World Wide Fund (WWF)
Katherine is the Manager for Sustainable Finance Engagement at WWF-Malaysia. She formerly led digitalization projects in Allianz Life Malaysia. She previously led an internal audit team in Lonpac Insurance Berhad. Katherine holds a MSc. in Islamic Finance.
Dr. Marjan Muhammad
International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA)
Dr. Marjan is the Head of the Research Quality Assurance Office and Senior Researcher at the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA). She was the Director of Research at ISRA from 2013-2017. She is currently a member of Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) effective from 1 November 2019. Previously, she was a member of Shariah committee of Maybank Islamic Berhad, SME Bank Berhad, MBSB Berhad and RHB Islamic Berhad.
Mehdi Baddou
IslamicMarkets
Mehdi is a Senior Analyst in IslamicMarkets. He is a PhD Scholar, who is extremely passionate about Islamic fintech and responsible investing. He is a vigorous advocate of ESG integration in Islamic investments. He also has previous work experience in Islamic fintech startups.
Shah Mohammad Ali
Privasia Technologies Berhad (PTB)
Shah heads innovation initiatives at PTB, where he is predominantly working towards sustainability and digital transformation, as well as ecosystem development. He is also an Industry Fellow and Member of the Steering committee at Universiti Utara Malaysia, Centre of Urban Studies for the national affordable housing development agenda. Shah has been involved in several high impact social financing and fintech projects.
Mohamed Shehzad Islam
Ethis Malaysia
Mohamed is the designated Chief Executive Officer of Ethis Malaysia. He started his career in aviation, then pursued a Masters in Mechatronics after which he worked as a management consultant. He was primarily engaged in advising high net worth clients. He was also involved in merger and acquisition deals and became an investor in startups.
Nur Diyana Najwa Mohd Affendi
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
Nur Diyana Najwa is an Islamic finance expert in the fintech and Islamic Digital Economy Division of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Recently, she has completed her Masters in Islamic Finance from the Global University of Islamic Finance (INCEIF).
Nur Izzani Hafiz
INCEIF, The Global University of Islamic Finance
Izzani holds MSc in Islamic Finance from INCEIF. She was an active research assistant in projects related to Takaful, social financing and fintech. She demonstrated strong entrepreneurial skills in her recent participation in startup pitching during ‘My Fintech Week’, an event organized by BNM with an idea to institutionalize Masjid’s funds via takaful concept.
Dr. Omar Alaeddin
UniKL
Dr. Omar is a Senior Lecturer at University Kuala Lumpur, Business School. He is leading the UniKL project to offer a bachelor’s degree in Fintech. Dr. Alaeddin holds a PhD in Islamic finance from INCEIF, Malaysia, and a master’s degree from Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences, Syria
Dr. Said Bouheraoua
International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA)
Associate Professor Dr. Said is a renowned Shariah Scholar in Islamic Finance. He is the Director of Research Development and Innovation Department at ISRA, a member of the of Affin Islamic Bank Board of Directors, Chairman of Affin Islamic Shariah Committee, Shariah member of MNRB Retakaful and Shariah member of the Central Bank of Oman.
Shakeeb Saqlain
IslamicMarkets
Shakeeb Saqlain is Founder and CEO of IslamicMarket.com. He has more than 15 years of banking and fintech experience, with a track record of working in Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital, Bloomberg, and Dubai Islamic Bank. Shakeeb is passionate about startup communities and building the infrastructure for the global Islamic economy.
Umar Munshi
Ethis
Umar is the co-founder of Ethis and the Managing Director of Ethis group, the Chairman of the Islamic Fintech Alliance, and a committee member of Fintech Association Malaysia. He has been a social entrepreneur since the age of 18. His entrepreneurship journey includes stints in Singapore, Jakarta, Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur, spanning various sectors including healthcare, education, Islamic finance and real estate.
Victor Chua
Vynn Capital
Victor is the President of Malaysia Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (MVCA). He is also the Founding & Managing Partner of Vynn Capital. He was formally the Vice President of Investments for Gobi Partners and managed two Southeast Asia focused early stage funds. Some of his notable investments include Carsome (Malaysia), Triip.me (Vietnam) and Travelio (Indonesia).
Prof. Dr. Younes Soualhi
International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA)
Professor Younes is the Head of the Islamic Banking Unit at ISRA and a professor at the Global University of Islamic Finance (INCEIF). He is also sitting on many Shariah boards/committees including Bursa Malaysia, Munich Re Retakaful, Kuwait Retakaful, HSBC Amanah Malaysia, Adengreen (Dubai) and Salam Takaful (Nigeria).
Syeikh Haji Zakaria Bin Othman
Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah
Syeikh Haji Zakaria Bin Othman is the Chief Executive Officer of Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah since 2017. He was also approved by His Royal Highness Tuanku Sultan of Kedah to be appointed as a Board Member of the Kedah Islamic Religious Council (MAIK) as well as a Board Member of the Kedah Islamic Foundation. He is also the recipient of the Kedah State Order of Merit Award as Kedah Crown Member (AMK) in 2009.
Dr Ziyaad Mahomed
INCEIF, The Global University of Islamic Finance
Assistant Professor Dr. Ziyaad Mahomed is the Associate Dean and Director of e-Learning & Executive Education at INCEIF. He is the recipient of numerous Islamic Finance global awards. He is presently the Chairman of the Shariah Committee of HSBC Amanah (Malaysia), He also serves as advisor/consultant to government organizations in the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Nigeria amongst others.
Abubakar Ilyas
INCEIF, The Global University of Islamic Finance
Abubakar Ilyas is a Shariah scholar holding a master’s degree in Islamic finance. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Islamic Finance at INCEIF where he also serves as a Research Assistant.
Chita Ayu Astari Putri
INCEIF, The Global University of Islamic Finance
Chita is currently pursuing her master’s degree at INCEIF and works as Research Assistant at the Research Management Center of INCEIF. She has a work experience as an accountant in Indonesia.