GIFIIP held its Sixth Executive Council Meeting in 2025 and organized a High-Level Dialogue & Pre-Launch Event with Stakeholders
18 February 2025, Istanbul – The Executive Council (EC) of the Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform (GIFIIP) held its sixth meeting in person. GIFIIP is a joint initiative of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), represented by the IsDB Institute, and the United Nations Development Programme Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (UNDP ICPSD). Established in 2016, the platform positions Islamic finance and impact investing as leading enablers for financing global SDG implementation. The EC meeting was chaired by Dr. Gülçin Salıngan, Deputy Director of UNDP ICPSD, and attended by Mr. Yahya Aleem Ur Rehman, Associate Manager at the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI); Dr. Hilal Hussain, Associate Manager at IsDBI, UNDP ICPSD’s Islamic Finance Portfolio lead, Dr. Muniruddeen Lallmahomood and Islamic finance portfolio team.
The meeting focused on the scope of activities, work plan, roles, and responsibilities of GIFIIP’s partners, as well as future initiatives to be conducted under the GIFIIP TA. Discussions about the GIFIIP workplan centered on facilitating green Sukuk issuances in OIC member countries, promoting financial inclusion through digital solutions, conducting capacity-building activities to expand impact investment through Islamic finance, and matchmaking between investors and impact-creating enterprises. The EC also discussed other potential areas of collaboration—such as Islamic microfinance, awqaf, takaful (Islamic insurance), and awareness and capacity-building activities—between UNDP, IsDBI, and IsDB member institutions.
On February 19th, 2025, GIFIIP organized a high-level dialogue and a pre-launch event in Istanbul to unveil the Islamic Microfinance Fintech Report, highlighting insights from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Djibouti. Bringing together key stakeholders and experts, the event featured contributions from UNDP and IsDBI on how fintech innovations can drive Islamic microfinance expansion, financial inclusion, and a digital ecosystem for Islamic finance. Dr. Muniruddeen Lallmahomood, Dr. Hilal Hussain, and Mr. Shoaib Mohammady presented key findings and discussed fintech solutions for Islamic microfinance, case studies and best practices. The event, held as a stakeholder dialogue, engaged policymakers, industry leaders, and development institutions in shaping collaborative, fintech-driven strategies to advance Islamic finance and sustainable development.