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How Africa Can Tap Into The $5trn Halal Consumer Market - Tausif Malik

Islamic Finance	2964 VIEWS
Islamic Finance
2964 VIEWS

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Friday, August 20, 2020 / 1:00 PM / Bukola Akinyele for WebTV / Header Image Credit: WebTVNG

The Founder of the Halal Angels Network, Dr. Tausif Malik, disclosed this as a guest on WebTV's Islamic Finance Weekly Program.

According to Malik, some African countries are already developing their infrastructure at a rapid speed and those in the diaspora are returning to the continent to start their ventures or to invest in their respective economies.

This was the same pattern that occurred with the Indian and Chinese diaspora that returned to their respective countries, to start ventures and invest in their countries of descent.

The Halal consumer has been identified for two decades, but it has only been since the last decade, that individuals and corporations have attempted to tap into the market through the establishment of Halal certifications, Expos, Financial Services, Manufacturing, etc.

He said Halal Angels Network was launched to promote innovation and opportunities for Africa as the Halal global economy expands and is expected to double by 2025.

On why Africa came into the forefront of driving Halal economic activities, Dr. Malik noted that Africa has the market potential to grow faster than Europe and has emerged as a preferred region for the Halal products.

He described Halal businesses as ethical, environmentally-friendly, social, interest-free, alcohol-free, and a food-based business which follows the Halal dietary laws.

Looking at the areas Africa can access the "Halal Market" the Islamic Finance expert identified Blockchain, cryptocurrency, and technology for farmers to identify wild animals.

He charged the Fintech industry in Africa, to come up with more innovative solutions, with technologies like cryptocurrency which could create jobs for youngsters that put a stamp on blockchain data.

Giving insight into the Halal Angel Network, how it works and its benefits, the Finance expert said the idea behind establishing the World's first Halal Angels Network was to promote innovation, entrepreneurship & startups.

In terms of the range of Halal consumer market and project, he noted that analysts have projected a growth of $9.7trn by 2025.

The network was launched during the COVID 19 pandemic era to help investors, businesses, entrepreneurs & startups to navigate challenges in the business environment.

He described India as a remarkable example of a robust Halal market and a country with a 15% Muslim population. India's geographical location offers a great opportunity to become a Halal manufacturing hub as it has access to markets in the MENA (Middle-east and North Africa) Region, the GCC Region, South East Asia & Central Asia. Halal Angels wants to support the government of India to achieve the US$5trn target 2024.

Speaking on ways Halal-focused startups can improve to attract more entrepreneurs he said startups provide huge opportunities for job creation, business ventures which translates to wealth creation and leads to taxation, which becomes a source of revenue to the country.

The Founder of the Halal Angel Network urged millennials across Nigeria to stop waiting for jobs, venture into businesses leveraging technology to enable the creation of startups in the digital age.

"We felt the best way is to create a platform where Angel investors and Startups interact, in that way we are not taking investors money in our fund and investing, this helps in reducing bias and responsibility. If we make wrong decisions in investing other people's money in a startup, it would affect our credibility in this world and bad record on Judgement day" he said.