Islamic Finance And The SDGs: Framing The Opportunity

Year Published

2020

Contributing Organizations

International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA)

Islamic Finance Council (UKIFC)

Gatehouse Bank

DDCAP Group

Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI)

Type of Resource

Research/Insights Report

Languages

English

Relevant Topics

Core Topic

Islamic Finance

Topic 2

Transition Planning & Implementation Capabilities

Target Audience

All

Relevant Geography

Global

Resource Description

This report outlines how Islamic finance can align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting opportunities, global initiatives, and steps for Islamic financial institutions (IsFIs) to engage.

Why This Matters

Islamic finance can mobilize values-based capital at scale, strengthen social impact, and position itself as a leader in financing sustainable development.

Key Insights

Meeting the SDGs requires $5–7 trillion annually, with a $25–3 trillion gap in developing countries; Islamic finance assets of $25 trillion could help close this
Principles of fairness, risk-sharing, and social benefit align with SDGs on poverty reduction, education, and infrastructure
Opportunities include SDG-linked sukuk, partnerships with development banks, and embedding maqasid al-Shari’ah for social impact
UN frameworks (PRI, PRB, PSI) provide pathways for ESG and SDG integration
Sector engagement is still limited due to knowledge gaps and perceived lack of relevance

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