Banking for the Poor : The Role of Islamic Banking in Microfinance Initiatives
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, Head of Research Affairs Department
ISRA Research Paper (No. 1/2009)
"The main purpose of this paper is to review the microfinance scheme and discuss how Islamic banks can participate in such an endeavor without compromising institutional viability and sustainability. The paper conducts an extensive review of microfinance to build a case that Islamic banking should participate in a microfinance initiative. It concludes with a proposal to use a special purpose vehicle (SPV) as one of the possible means for Islamic banks to channel funds to the poor. It is worth mentioning that this paper won the Emerald Literati Network 2009 Outstanding Paper Award."