Paper

Islamic Banking Opportunities Across Small and Medium Enterprises in MENA

Identifying and analyzing the financing gaps for Islamic SMEs in the MENA region
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This report is a regional executive summary that compares data from nine individual country reports on Islamic banking opportunities across small and medium enterprises. It aims to summarize the findings put forward in the previous reports, analyze the existing structure, and look into future prospects. It provides a comparative analysis of the potential of Islamic banking for SMEs in the  Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The report: 
  • Identifies the countries in MENA facing gaps in Islamic banking needs for SMEs;
  • Conducts a supply side benchmarking to review the current capacities of banks to offer Islamic products to SME customers;
  • Conducts a demand side benchmarking to identify the banking needs of SMEs in MENA and to understand how well those needs are being met; 
  • Reviews the regulatory frameworks and overall banking environment (of individual countries), and the possibility of implementation of Shariah banking;
  • Provides recommendations to countries with significant financing gaps, and identifies products and services where banks need to build up capacity to bridge these gaps.