Meanwhile, LaunchGood, has raised USD9 million in over 20 countries and funded 1,300 social impact projects, ranging from disaster relief and humanitarian aid, to water and housing infrastructure in developing countries. In Malaysia, our Islamic financial institutions are in a good position to benefit from the growth multipliers that fintech offers. What is required is for the industry to invest in technology and talent to accelerate the adoption of technology. Key to making this a success is for the industry leaders and practitioners to transform their fears into familiarity; to embrace the digital transformation to re-engineer the entire organisation. In reimagining their businesses and viewing disruptive technologies not as a threat, but as an enabler, industry players can make the necessary operational, structural and cultural shifts. The tone has to be set from the top. The innovation agenda must be a boardroom priority, and Islamic financial institutions must be willing to allocate capital and resources to make this work. A further imperative to this is to inculcate and infuse a culture of innovation permeating throughout the organisation. The Islamic finance industry should adopt the motto of “dare to ideate” – to become founders and leaders of big ideas; to be able to synthesise the needs of customers; and to develop products to respond to those needs. Customised financial solutions can be achieved through fintech, with Shariah contracts as building blocks for innovation. We can start small and simple, with a view to iteratively improve and fine-tune to meet evolving needs of customers.

With a diverse population and a growing middle class, Malaysia is an ideal test bed for developing and commercialising fintech solutions. The emergence of fintech has opened up new opportunities which can greatly benefit the financial industry. At its core, fintech has led to the creation of various business models that help improve and simplify financial transactions, which 10 or 20 years ago seemed impossible. Here, I would like to highlight three key areas that Islamic finance stand to gain from fintech. Entrepreneurs too stand to gain from fintech. First, fintech provides the technological underpinnings to realise the goal of Islamic finance in creating a risk sharing economy. This will in turn benefit entrepreneurs who will gain wider access to bank-intermediated credit. An example is the Investment Account Platform (IAP). IAP is Malaysia’s first multi-bank online 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  platform that combines the credit evaluation expertise of Islamic banks and the power of technology to channel funds from investors to economic ventures. This virtual “multisided” platform facilitates a collection of interesting investment ventures and projects, with transparent risk-return rewards for investors. Second, fintech has opened up new sources of funding to entrepreneurs, in what is increasingly being referred to as the alternative financing space. Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (P2P) funding platforms have emerged as highly efficient “matchmakers” between entrepreneurs and investors. From the USD10 million raised globally in 2009 through nine major platforms, crowdfunding platforms mobilised over USD767 million in 2016 with backers from over 200 countries.