Suite Talk: Strengthening Islamic Capital Market Proposition through Fintech

Ruslena Ramli is an Islamic Finance advocate with 20+ years of experience. Her banking repertoire include corporate strategy, advising on sukuk/bond issuances, as well as development of Islamic banking products. She is an avid speaker in local and international Islamic Finance and Islamic Fintech conferences. She leads MDEC’s Digital Finance and Islamic Digital Economy national-level Promoted Sector initiative. Her expertise in Shariah-compliant structures and established relationships with Islamic finance communities locally and aboard are among her valuable attributes. Ruslena holds a BA (Honors) in Accounting and Finance from Middlesex University of London and a Master’s Degree in Islamic Finance from International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF).

Mohammad Ridzuan Abdul Aziz (Ridzuan) has over 25 years of commercially–driven regulatory, compliance and technology experiences in Asia-Pacific. He is currently the Malaysia Country Director and Head of ASEAN Business for WorldRemit, and on the board of ACS Digital Berhad (An approved Islamic digital bank), AKRU robo-advisory, as well as Dear Time InsureTech. He is a member of the board advisor for the Fintech Association of Malaysia where among others, focuses on raising Malaysia’s unique combined values of mature on-shore fintech eco-system, nimble Labuan mid-shore framework and wealth of depth & breath from Islamic Digital Economy. He was also the Secretary General for the ASEAN Chapter of the Global Impact Fintech Forum, a global thinktank that focuses on Fintech initiatives that has significant impacts with members across 70+ countries and founding member of Faster Community that’s consist of MENA fintech founders and leaders . Ridzuan was an advisor for the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA), and currently an industry advisor with the Asia Pacific University (APU), Taylor’s University Business School, and Quest International University (QIU). In 2013 and 2016, Ridzuan founded regulatory technology advisory firms - RHT Compliance Solutions and CS Tech Solutions Sdn Bhd, respectively. In 2017, Ridzuan was the CEO of Sedania As-Salam Capital Sdn Bhd, a digital-enabling platform for Shariah-compliance personal objective-loan financing. He was a regulator with the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (1998) during the Asia financial crisis, the Securities Commission ((2001) and then redeployed to a joint task force between the Securities Commission and Bank Negara Malaysia during the formation of the investment bank concept (2002). Ridzuan graduated from University of Wales, Aberyswyth (1997) with BSc Economics, majoring in Accounting and Finance. He obtained his MBA, specializing in Management Information System from the International Islamic University Malaysia (2006).

Umar Munshi, a Singaporean social entrepreneur, founded Ethis, a fintech leader in impact-focused, shariah-compliant investments, operational in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Oman. Ethis allows global investors to support MENASIA region startups, projects and funds. Ethis Indonesia is a licensed P2P platform facilitating SME financing, while Ethis Malaysia pioneers in shariah-compliant equity crowdfunding. The latest venture, EthisX, offers a broad range of cross-border investment opportunities. Additionally, GlobalSadaqah.com, Ethis's Islamic social finance marketplace, connects Foundations, Corporations, Islamic Banks, and public contributors to NGOs and social enterprises. Munshi presides over the Islamic Fintech Alliance, significantly contributing to industry development.

Zayan is a graduate of Economic History from London School of Economics and has been in the Fintech industry for over 7 years with a wealth of experience from establishing companies at an early startup stage to catapulting towards advanced growth stage making companies viable for future funding rounds. Zayan has created massive impact in his previous roles by introducing new products and at the same time leading a team to deliver the product to market and to manage the product end-to-end towards achieving company targets. This is clearly demonstrated when he was given the responsibility to lead Wahed Inc’s (Group) initiative for expansion and operational excellence across multiple regions from UK to South Africa. He was also instrumental in rolling out Wahed’s inaugural mobile application for robo-advisory and was key to ensuring that the company maintained high standards of governance and operational oversight.

Mohamed Firdaus Bin Kader Mohideen presently, the Head, Group Shariah for MIDF Berhad. He was the Specialist for Islamic Finance in Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA). Prior to this he was the General Manger for programme development in Asian Institute of Finance (AIF). Firdaus has vast experience working in Malaysia as well as Middle East for more than 28 years in Retail, Corporate and Investment Banking. In Middle East, he worked in Emirates Bank and Al Inma Bank. Firdaus was the first head of Chartered Islamic Finance Professional (CIFP) and industry expert for Islamic Finance at INCEIF. Firdaus has also worked in the following esteem financial institutions at RAM Ratings as the Head of Islamic Ratings, MBf Finance as the main Hub Manager for state of Kelantan and Maybank in the Corporate Banking Division. He was also instrumental in setting up Islamic Finance Department and was the first Head of the Islamic Finance department in MIDF in 2003. Firdaus has a degree in Business Administration (IIUM) and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) specializing in Islamic banking and finance from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He is also a professional graduate from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and holder of Islamic Financial Planning (IFP) Certificate. Firdaus is also a certified trainer under the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), UK. Completed Certified Shariah Professional (CSP) by Association of Shariah Advisors, a Professional Shariah certification. He has conducted more than 300 trainings since 1999 in Islamic Finance programmes mainly in Fundamentals of Islamic Finance, Principles of Islamic Finance, and Introduction to Islamic Finance, Certified Credit Practice for Islamic Financial Institutions, Islamic Debt and Equity Contracts, Basic Shariah Contracts, Sukuk, Documentations for Islamic Finance, Risk Management for Islamic Financial Institutions,Shariah Screening for Shares, Shariah Compliance for Islamic Bankers, Islamic Financial Planning, Basic Takaful Contracts, Islamic Business Ethics, Marketing for Islamic Bankers, Waqf and Certified Trainer with Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia. He has delivered trainings in Malaysia, Middle East, Russia, Nigeria, Maldives and Sri Lanka. He has also delivered specialized Islamic Finance training to delegates from the monetary authority of Palestine and Afghanistan. He had also conducted trainings for takaful modules namely to Syarikat Takaful Malaysia on the topic; The Importance of Takaful & Hibah in Modern Estate Planning and Shariah Governance in Takaful Institutions for MYSAA participants. Firdaus has been appointed as an Accreditation Panel Member of Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA) since 2013 and was previously an exco member for Association of Shariah Advisors Malaysia(ASAS). Recently he was elected as Internal Auditor for Association of Shariah Advisors Malaysia(ASAS) and appointed as the member of Examination Board for ASAS.

Dr Ziyaad Mahomed is Associate Professor, Lead Researcher (Shariah) for the Centre of Excellence in Social Finance, and Head of Online Programs at INCEIF University. He served as consultant to the World Bank, several governments, and financial institutions in over 20 countries since 1998. Dr Ziyaad is Chairman of several Shariah boards including HSBC Amanah (Malaysia), Tajbank and FBN Quest (Nigeria) and Ayady Takaful (Maldives) amongst others. He holds a Masters and PhD from INCEIF, an MBA and Honors in Finance from the UK, Islamic sciences certification from South Africa and Jordan. He lectures in Islamic Jurisprudence and Law, Sustainability and Social Finance.

Khoo Hsu Chuang is a financial journalist with 25 years’ experience covering financial markets in KL, Singapore, Tokyo, HK and London working for The Edg, Bloomberg, Thomson-Reuters and BFM in print, newswire and radio/TV broadcast / web. He is a former co-host on BFM and a former Contributing Editor / columnist with The Edge (and Focus Malaysia). Khoo also spent nine years in corporate governance as an analyst at the Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group. His podcast on YouTube & Spotify is titled ‘Do More’, where he speaks with successful personalities on Entrepreneurship, Investment and Leadership. Link: https://www.youtube.com/c/DoMoreTakeChargeofYourLife