4th International Conference on Inclusive Islamic Financial Sector Development
17th – 18th November 2015
Venue: International Islamic University, Faisal Mosque Campus, Islamabad
[Pre-conference workshop: 16th November 2015]
Organised by
International Institute of Islamic Economics (IIIE),
International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan (IIUI)
AND
Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), Jeddah
CALL FOR PAPERS
Despite exemplary growth of Islamic finance over the past decades, already crossing USD 1.00 trillion mark, neither the poor segments of the societies have been duly attended to nor the common masses have been offered with adequate chance to benefit from Islamic financial services. The corporate sector has virtually become the major beneficiary of this development since the Islamic financial institutions have ignored the objective of value orientation pertaining to Islamic finance.
Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has initiated a number of programs focusing development of micro and small enterprises in member countries, the latest being Youth Employment Support (YES) Program to address the unemployment issues of educated youth by developing entrepreneurial capacity and providing financial resources through Islamic financial instruments. However, to reach the appropriate scale, the effort and will of the political governments is required to pave the ways and means to address the issue.
Of course, the donor dependent, piecemeal, and un-sustainable interventions cannot provide the solution unless a programmed strategy for financial inclusion is developed within the overall scenario. The conference has been planned keeping these considerations in view, which is expected to bring together the multilateral institutions, practitioners, academicians, microfinance networks/forums, regulators, and development activists. The conference is also expected to bring forth recommendations that will help in devising sustainable strategy for development of inclusive finance.
In many developing countries, the majority of population lives in rural areas while financial institutions concentrate in urban centers. Consequently, they remain underserved in terms of access to financial services. This situation requires the governments and the societies to play catalytic role by supporting an inclusive financial sector and country level policy framework should be developed with a clear vision to face the challenge of devising well thought out action plan.
The conference lays focus on the same challenge and its participation by diverse economies is expected to translate into the growth of this sector, expanding access to financial services in respect of millions of households currently excluded from economic opportunity.
The papers to be presented in the conference will be selected through anonymous review process. Keynote speakers will be selected from early submissions as it requires an additional evaluation related to the authors' credentials and past standing in the industry.
Publication of Conference Proceedings: IRTI will prepare brief and concrete synthesis report on the outcomes of the conference that will be compiled in a book of proceedings and will be made available to all the speakers.
Objective of the Conference
The prime objective of the conference pertains to the review of the best practices to help developing inclusive financial sector and devise an action plan to address various challenges in this regard.
Scopes and Topics to be covered:
The conference will cover, but not limited to, the following subject areas to which the writers are invited to prepare and send their papers:
- Global challenge of poverty and potential for Islamic finance
- Innovation in Islamic finance for the disadvantaged
- Integrating micro and small enterprise development with mainstream Islamic finance sector
- Islamic insurance and financial inclusion
- Role of central banks to enhance inclusion through Islamic finance
- Regulatory and supervisory concerns in promoting Islamic finance
- Demand for Islamic micro-financial services
- Country experiences in improving access to financial services
- Financial literacy as a tool to increase inclusiveness
- Title about zakat, waqf and philanthropy
- A Special Session on “The Need for a Strategic System for Humanitarian Aid in Islamic Social Finance”
Language: The language of the Conference will be ‘English’. A limited number of papers will be allowed to be presented in Arabic through an arrangement of translation from Arabic to English.
The Participants: The participants, amongst others, will include academicians, practitioners, researchers, regulators and other industry representatives.
Sponsorship: Keynote speakers and authors of the selected papers, travelling from outside Islamabad, will be provided sponsorship in respect of following:
- Round trip economy class air ticket from home city to Islamabad and back
- Hotel accommodation in Islamabad
- Visa processing fee, if applicable
Registration Fee: The participants are required to pay the registration and attendance fee as under:
- Participants (other than university students): Rs. 5,000
- University Students: Rs. 1,000
The fee will cover the lunches and tea of the conference days.
Registration and Submission
Participant/Presenter Registration
- If you have not registered with Confbay before, click here to Register. Follow the instructions listed on the screen.
- If you have registered with Confbay before, you can Log In here.
Online Paper Submission
- After logging in, you will be able to submit your abstract / paper through the Online Submission System.
- Click on the “My Submission” menu. Follow the instructions listed.
- Notification emails will be sent to you as a confirmation of the submission.