The Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) and a Malaysian based company, Al-Hidayah Group, have agreed to collaborate to establish an Islamic economic model, the D-8 Creative Economic and Financial Center (D-8 CEFC), with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, to address some of the causes of poverty that is oftentimes associated with modern economic planning. This initiative would be driven largely by information technology and cloud computing infrastructures, for it to be globally competitive.

While addressing the meeting, jointly organized by Al-Hidayah Group and the D-8 Organization, through a virtual platform on 11 January 2023, the Secretary General of Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8), H.E. Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, described the CEFC initiative as unique in the sense that it would blend Islamic socio-economic development by linking government, private sectors and communities. He added that the initiative had elements of Islamic charity, which encourage the well-to-do in the society to share out of their abundance with fellow less privileged people.

Speaking further on the benefits of this lofty initiative, the Secretary General opined that if this model becomes fully operational it would contribute significantly to the amelioration of poverty and improve the socio-economic status of the teeming underprivileged in D-8 Member States. “I hope that this new Islamic economic model, which takes cognizance of the well-being of those at lower rungs of economic ladder and which is based on shariah compliance, will enrich our current economic structures and policies”, Ambassador Imam said.

This virtual meeting, which was attended by representatives from the public and private sector of D-8 countries, was the first of its kind since the Statement of Intent was signed with Al-Hidayah Group and the D-8 in 2018. The meeting was convened for the company to present the initiative to Member countries and other valued partners of the D-8 Organization.

In his prepared statement to participants at the virtual meeting, the Chairman of Al-Hidayah Group and the immediate past Secretary General of the D-8 Organization, H.E. Ambassador Dato Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, said that under what he called ‘Islamic Gift Economy’, it would provide collaborative relationship to mobilize financial and human resources to confront societal needs and advance strategic philanthropy, the integrative revival of  the mechanisms of religion, social and commercial exchange as encapsulated in the traditional fiqh of ibadah and muamalah such as zakat,  wakaf sadaqah, hibah, etc.

While explaining further, Ambassador  Dato’ Jaafar Ku Shaari opined that Islamic countries began to develop the idea of global Islamic economy following a new trend in which Muslim and even non-Muslim consumers across the world started to seek out for faith-based products and services. This, according to him, has seen Islamic economy achieving robust growth.

In trying to buttress his analysis with favourable statistics, Chairman Ku Shaari said, in 2018 Muslims spent $2.02 trillion across the food, pharmaceutical and lifestyle sectors, which represent a 5.2% year-on-year growth.  This, according to him, while quoting the state of the global Islamic Economy, that the figure might climb further to $3.2trillion by the year 2024.

Presentations were made by Al-Hidayah Group covering various aspects of the CEFC initiative including, Website and IT platform, Islamic Finance, E-Commerce trade, the WICE CEFC Office Complex and the need for Business strategic partners in the member countries, amongst others. D-8 CEFC is based on the scope of Islamic Finance that includes Islamic Banking, Takaful, Insurance, Ar Rahnu and Tabung Hajji in order to contribute to the achievement of the UN SDG 1,2,3,4,8 and 12.

Finally, at the end of the meeting a joint Agreement on the Way Forward, with regards to the CEFC initiative, was issued by the D-8 organization, the representatives of agencies from member states and the Al-Hidayah Group. The recommendations proffered at the meeting covers several areas that would propel the future implementation of the CEFC initiative.