The Institutionalization of Islamic Social finance instruments like Zakat and Waqf will play a vital role in promoting inclusive economic growth in Nigeria. Bilikis Lawal Shuaibu, Islamic Finance Researcher & Consultant at Fineopolis Consulting, Dubai, made this point while exploring the subject "Achieving Inclusive Economic Growth in Nigeria Through Islamic Social Finance."

She said as it stands, no government regulations are supporting the industry to grow and provide solutions to economic challenges in areas like infrastructure. 

Additionally, she noted that the market is unaware of the need for the halal industry and does not comprehend why it is essential that it goes beyond just being shariah compliant. 

"When we consider this, we must recognize that one of the main issues is raising awareness, as well as having the government's support in deploying Islamic social finance." 

She believed that Sukuk and Zadakat could also be utilized in a sense to raise more awareness, hold conferences, publish reports, form study groups, and even conduct surveys to determine the precise nature of the issues, the needs of the market, and the best course of action for addressing those needs. 

She added that Crowdfunding is a social finance tool that allows for direct participation from the public. By using it, business owners or enterprises in this sector can join in and learn how this will affect the economy and how people can fund this and participate in these movements. "However, there should still be something to channel the Zakat fund into microfinance institutions, to provide funding for businesses." 

The expert called for Zakat to be institutionalized so that there is proper auditing and that even microfinance institutions and NGOs will follow the correct procedures and ensure that the funds are Shariah-compliant.

She emphasized the need for the funds to be invested in Shariah-compliant cooperatives, which will help achieve empowerment and financial inclusion.

She re-emphasized the need for a proper regulatory and policy framework for waqf and Zadayah, in addition to Zakat, looking at how to achieve an integrated approach to building a sustainable Islamic finance ecosystem.

She said that the hajj commission, which exists in Nigeria at the federal and state levels, can leverage the Islamic social finance tools. 

According to her, every state in Malaysia has a zakat body, which is something Nigeria can learn from with the proper mechanism for funding distribution and collection. 

She argued that enabling regulations can allow the youthful population between 18 to 40 years, that are tech savvy and digitally inclined to participate in economic activities. 

She pointed out that the recent data, which revealed that over 120m Nigerians have access to the internet or mobile devices, was an opportunity to unlock opportunities through the digital economy. Lawal believed issues like trust, broadband infrastructure, digital skills, and rural connectivity need addressing to expand the country's frontiers of the Islamic Social finance industry.  

On the outlook for the industry, she stressed the need for a robust policy and regulatory framework that complements the work already done in the Islamic Finance space, learning from Malaysia and the model it adopted. For example, the Malaysian government established a comprehensive framework and standard that actively promoted Islamic finance.

Considering the age of the fourth industrial revolution, driven by digital technology, she called on industry stakeholders to explore leveraging apps, blockchain, artificial intelligence and big data to deepen Islamic Social finance in Nigeria.

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