Master of Science in Islamic Finance

The present study has examined the possibilities of economically empowering Gambian Women Vegetable producers through Islamic Microfinance. The study utilize both primary and secondary data to accomplish the set objectives. The primary data was collected through face-to-face interviews from 245 women vegetable producers in four different women gardens all within the peri-urban areas of The Gambia. Another interview was conducted with supersonicz “The Microfinance” Gambia Limited.

In an attempt of addressing the challenges and crises of the 21st century, nowadays, soaring number of companies are publishing CSR and/or Sustainability reports on voluntary basis to enhance and enrich their annual reports. While observing these reports, one may notice very little linkage between the information they include. To have a genuine impact, these separate reports need to be integrated to reflect the firm’s commitment to social responsibility while meeting the expectations of its various stakeholders.

Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV2030) provides a framework for multidimensional development. In this research, it is argued that the implementation of the QNV2030 requires Qatar's transition to Circular economy from the current linear economy. This requires a paradigmatic shift of government policies, business strategies, civil society ideals and society's aspirations.

The main objective of the thesis is to explore synergies between Islamic funds and SRIs as well as to evaluate and compare the financial performance of Islamic funds with SRIs, conventional funds, and the market benchmarks in light of SDGs. The analysis of the study was conducted based on a time series data of 41 Islamic funds selected from 11 countries distributed in four geographical areas. The performance evaluation was conducted using the methods of Absolute Performance Evaluation and Risk-Adjusted Performance Evaluation methods.