Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential of Islamic financing schemes for microfinancing purposes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper contends that Islamic finance has an important role to contribute for furthering socio-economic development of the poor and small (micro)...

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Main Author: Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Group Publishing 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/1/Islamic_microfinance_humanomics.pdf
id iium-3159
recordtype eprints
spelling iium-31592011-10-18T08:29:10Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/ Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahim HG1501 Banking Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential of Islamic financing schemes for microfinancing purposes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper contends that Islamic finance has an important role to contribute for furthering socio-economic development of the poor and small (micro) entrepreneurs without charging interest (read: riba’). Findings – Islamic finance offers various ethical schemes and instruments that can be advanced and adapted for the purpose of microfinance. Comparatively, qardhul hasan, murabahah, and ijarah schemes are relatively easy to manage and will ensure the capital needs (qardhul hasan), equipments(murabahah) and leased equipments (ijarah) for potential micro-entrepreneurs and the poor. Participatory schemes such as mudarabah and musharakah, on the other hand, have great potentials for microfinance purposes as these schemes can satisfy the risk sharing needs of the microentrepreneurs. Research limitations/implications – The paper is only conceptual and does not aim to empirically examine the issues or theories. However, the paper will definitely be useful to develop hypotheses for future research, especially in this relatively new area of Islamic microfinance. Practical implications – The Islamic concepts of microfinance will be of interest especially to many microfinance institutions. The paper will also be a good introduction to practitioners in the microfinance sector to understand the relevance and limitations of Islamic financing schemes. Originality/value – Islamic financing schemes are argued as having moral and ethical attributes that can effectively motivate micro-entrepreneurs to thrive. These schemes, however, require specialized skills in managing risks inherent in the structure of the contracts. In theory, different schemes can be used for different purposes depending on the risk profile of the micro-entrepreneurs. Emerald Group Publishing 2010 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/1/Islamic_microfinance_humanomics.pdf Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahim (2010) Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation. Humanomics, 26 (4). pp. 284-295. ISSN 0828-8666 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1891578&show=abstract DOI 10.1108/08288661011090884
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution International Islamic University Malaysia
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
language English
topic HG1501 Banking
spellingShingle HG1501 Banking
Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahim
Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation
description Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential of Islamic financing schemes for microfinancing purposes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper contends that Islamic finance has an important role to contribute for furthering socio-economic development of the poor and small (micro) entrepreneurs without charging interest (read: riba’). Findings – Islamic finance offers various ethical schemes and instruments that can be advanced and adapted for the purpose of microfinance. Comparatively, qardhul hasan, murabahah, and ijarah schemes are relatively easy to manage and will ensure the capital needs (qardhul hasan), equipments(murabahah) and leased equipments (ijarah) for potential micro-entrepreneurs and the poor. Participatory schemes such as mudarabah and musharakah, on the other hand, have great potentials for microfinance purposes as these schemes can satisfy the risk sharing needs of the microentrepreneurs. Research limitations/implications – The paper is only conceptual and does not aim to empirically examine the issues or theories. However, the paper will definitely be useful to develop hypotheses for future research, especially in this relatively new area of Islamic microfinance. Practical implications – The Islamic concepts of microfinance will be of interest especially to many microfinance institutions. The paper will also be a good introduction to practitioners in the microfinance sector to understand the relevance and limitations of Islamic financing schemes. Originality/value – Islamic financing schemes are argued as having moral and ethical attributes that can effectively motivate micro-entrepreneurs to thrive. These schemes, however, require specialized skills in managing risks inherent in the structure of the contracts. In theory, different schemes can be used for different purposes depending on the risk profile of the micro-entrepreneurs.
format Article
author Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahim
author_facet Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahim
author_sort Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahim
title Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation
title_short Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation
title_full Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation
title_fullStr Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation
title_full_unstemmed Islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation
title_sort islamic microfinance: an ethical alternative to poverty alleviation
publisher Emerald Group Publishing
publishDate 2010
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3159/1/Islamic_microfinance_humanomics.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T20:10:52Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T20:10:52Z
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