Jeddah: The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Institute, as per a press release, is pleased to announce the 18th edition of the IsDB Global Forum on Islamic Finance, scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 28 April 2024, in conjunction with the IsDB Group Annual Meetings and Golden Jubilee Celebration.
Organized annually as a flagship side event of the Annual Meetings, this year’s Forum will bring together thought leaders, policymakers, financial experts, and other stakeholders in the Islamic finance industry to deliberate on innovative tools to foster sustainable development.
Under the theme “Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership in Islamic Finance,” the forum will feature keynote speeches by the Chairman of the IsDB, Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, the Governor of the Saudi National Development Fund, Dr. Stephen Groff, and the CEO of Tasnee Corporation, Eng. Mutlaq H. Al-Morished.
The forum will also include the award presentation to the winner of the 2024 IsDB Prize for Impactful Achiev
ement in Islamic Economics. Prof. Mehmet Asutay, a professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Political Economy and Finance at Durham University, won the prize in recognition of his significant and influential contributions to the field of Islamic economics and finance.
Following the award ceremony, the Forum will host two sessions. The first panel will explore entrepreneurship’s pivotal role in advancing sustainable development, particularly within the Islamic finance paradigm. Panelists for the session include CEO of Madinah Knowledge Economic City, Mohammad Abdulhameed Al-Mubarak, Executive Dean of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College (MBSC), Dr. Zeger Degraeve, CEO and Founder of TAKADAO Morrad Irsane, and Acting Director General of the IsDB Institute Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem.
The second session will showcase the Smart Stabilization System, a patent-pending algorithm designed to enhance stability in financial markets, developed by the IsDB Institute and implemented by the blockchain company SettleMint. The discu
ssants for this session will be the Founder and CEO of SettleMint, Matthew Van Niekerk, and the Associate Manager of the Knowledge Solutions Team at IsDBI, Dr. Hilal Houssain.
Additionally, the forum will feature the launch of a new IsDBI report titled “Catalyzing Social Entrepreneurship through Islamic Finance,” which explores the potential of Islamic finance to support social entrepreneurship and impact investing.
The IsDB Global Forum on Islamic Finance is an annual high-level forum initiated in 2006 as a platform for strategic policy dialogue on knowledge and innovation in Islamic finance and development.
Source: Saudi Press Agency