With the retail share of responsible investment doubling to 26 per cent in 2016, ethical, responsible and Islamic fintech can support further growth to deliver the financial products, experts said at a summit in Zurich, Switzerland.

The Responsible Finance & Investment (RFI) Summit opened yesterday (May 3) with leaders from across the responsible investment, impact investment and Islamic finance sectors gathering to discuss how to promote greater awareness of and engagement within responsible finance.

The first day’s sessions focused on ethical, responsible and Islamic fintech and the power they harness which can disrupt financial services and in doing so address the inequities in society and support equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

During his Opening Remarks on ethical fintech, Dr Jarmo Kotilaine, chief economist of the Economic Development Board of Bahrain noted that digitalization of emerging markets can deliver new value of $4 trillion to GDP by 2025 and this digitalization will help the financial sector better fulfil its role as the cardiovascular system of the economy.

The sessions that followed Dr Kotilaine’s remarks looked at the role for responsible fintech to deliver impact and ESG integration to a much wider segment of the population. The final sessions of the day addressed how regulators and the innovation ecosystem can support fintech development and encourage more responsible fintech.  This development can be supported both by better regulation and building appropriate incubation ecosystems that focus on responsible fintech.

Before the opening of the RFI Summit, together with INCEIF, the global university of Islamic finance, the organizers hosted interactive Executive Sessions focused on the cooperative roles that impact investing and awqaf can play to address the Sustainable Development Goals.  During the Sessions, participants discussed how to use the financial resources held by impact-focused investors and awqaf to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Summit will also feature presentations by the finalists in the Support Disruption for GoodChallenge, which identified innovative fintech startups focusing on financial inclusion and the SDGs. – TradeArabia News Service