Microfinance: Toward a Sustainable Islamic Finance Model: A Short Report

A workshop entitled “Microfinance: Toward a Sustainable Islamic Finance Model” was held on April 18, 2008, at Harvard Law School before the Eighth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance, entitled “Innovation and Authenticity.” Despite the fact that Islamic finance is inherently social justice–oriented, Islamic financial institutions have not yet made significant forays into the area of microfinance. This workshop focused on how we could change this model and bring forth ideas that foster a more organic connection between Islamic finance and microfinance initiatives to alleviate poverty and stimulate economic growth.