Murabaha Capital, a platform set-up to address the funding needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), invoice financing and consumers in a sharia-compliant way, has signed up Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) as its sharia advisor.

As per the deal, SRB will supervise the platform and provide comprehensive Sharia guidelines for trading assets using Murabaha modalities.

It currently offers an international Sharia advisory service, providing consistent, quality assured, Sharia certifications and Sharia audits to establishments around the world, said a statement from SRB.

Its capabilities span the entire Sharia compliance value chain with holistic Sharia advisory solutions, and product assessment customized to the needs of the financial institutions it serves, it added.

The platform of Murabaha Capital envisions the simplification of the process for both lenders and borrowers allowing the latter to showcase their growth, portfolio and financial health to multiple investors at the same time without having to chase them, said the statement.

As part of its capital introductory service, the platform aims to process SME applications faster than traditional measures thereby allowing Islamic banks and financing companies to identify and connect with credit worthy businesses.

This will be an important step in the evolution of the industry and is expected to be welcomed by Islamic banks who require superior diligence in credit screening, liquidity control and transparency, it added.

“With the changing environment of banking primarily due to fintech-driven shifts, the market for Islamic finance servicing is poised to see disruption,” remarked Abbas Hijazi, the co-founder of Murabaha Capital.

"It is for this reason that we are seeing an increasing demand for digital based trading and lending in the Islamic markets," he added.

Hijazi said the company had roped in SRB as advisor to help it comply with the critical procedures of sharia compliance. "We hope this will drive international Islamic investors and businesses to generate new opportunities in the marketplace compatible to their faith based values," he noted.

SRB Founder and CEO Yasser Dahlawi said: "High quality Sharia advice and certification services are critical to our business and we are ready to deliver what’s required to support the future ambitions of the users of Murabaha Capital."

"We will ensure that the people and institutions using the platform have assurance and access to  the levels of expertise required for attaining Sharia compliance in their business facilities," he added.-TradeArabia News Service