Kestrl

"When I found Islam I realised I had to leave my career in conventional finance... it was not easy!" We have met many non-Muslims who operate in Islamic Finance, but rarely do we meet one who's embraced Islam too and reverted! Meet Pontus Selander, the Swedish revert who is bringing Islamic Finance to the Nordics and beyond through his role at Saturna Capital, a wealth manager offering the only shariah compliant solution in the region. In this poignant and often emotional ‘fika’ (check out the episode to see what that means) he discussed; 🕌 How Pontus discovered Islam after initially being extremely sceptical of it 🌴 Leaving behind a lucrative career in financial services and seeking out sustainable and compliant alternatives 📈 The overlaps between ethical and Islamic investments and what work needs to be done in the industry 💼 Advice for people finding their feet in this industry or looking to move Please do check out the full episode in the comments below 👇

How Much Zakat Would Elon Musk Have To Pay?! A very weird idea right? Especially since he just told 150,000 'anti-immigration' protestors in London this weekend that they have to 'fight back or die!'. Leaving aside the obvious questions as to why a foreign billionaire would be trying to influence UK politics- it got me thinking, what if his wealth could be put to much better use? In 2024 Elon paid exactly $0 in tax on his personal wealth, but what if his wealth could be put to a fairer use for the good of society? What if he paid Zakat? Zakat is a 2.5% net wealth donation to charitable causes that Muslims are obliged to make every single year- Time for some more MBA quick maths! 🕌 Zakat = 2.5% of (Zakatable Assets - Liabilities) 💰 Zakatable assets include* (Forbes): $140B (Tesla) + $51B (SpaceX) + $25B (xAI) + $4B (X) + $1.8B (Neuralink) + $1B (Boring) + $6B (cash) + $1B (crypto) + $0.5B (other) = $230.3B 🏦 Liabilities (loans against Tesla & SpaceX) : $3.5B 💸 Zakat due : (230.3B - 3.5B) x 2.5% = $5.67 BN in 2024 conservatively (it's over 11B if we follow the Shaafi opinion on shares!) So $0 paid vs. over $5B he could have under an ethical system? Maybe it's time for billionaires like Elon to start putting their money where their mouths are. *(Not all of Elon's holdings are public so we've made some assumptions. Public companies like Tesla are fully 'Zakatable' whilst for private companies like Space X only the proportionate share of liquid assets are consid

"Muslims who do well in business should be investing in the next version of themselves rather than property or gold...Capital in Islam is meant to fuel profit generating activities rather than rent seeking ones" Last week we had a hugely important and candid conversation with Financial Advisor and CIO at Dija: Faisal Sheikh about what Muslims should really be investing in and busting some big myths about wealth in the process. Some of our key highlights included: 🏠 Why investing in property does nothing to fuel economic activity and may even be 'Un-Islamic' 📈 Why Shariah funds have outperformed conventional ones for the last decade and why this will be unlikely to remain the case 🪙 Investing in Crypto/Bitcoin: Is it worth it and what true use cases exist for it 👶 How to embed financial literacy in the next generation? As always, check out the full episode in the comments below

Islamic Finance's biggest critic changes his mind ?!? Meet Islamic Scholar, Lawyer, co-founder of home finance fintech Pfida, and previous self declared critic of the Islamic finance industry: Sheikh Salman Hasan. He joins us on our most philosophical episode of Muslim Money Talk to explain how and why he's changing his thoughts on the industry and how working within the debt based system may be necessary to solve societies biggest problems. Together with Ali Siddiqui who joined us as co-host, we got to discuss: 🕌 A new framework for approaching shariah compliance and Islamic values 🏦 Why Islamic Banks and Mortgages may not be the answer to our community's biggest issues 📊 Why Islamic Finance when done right should never be just for Muslims 🤲 Why this industry needs every player from Wahed, Nester, Offa, Cur8 Capital and more regardless of business models to truly uplift our communities An absolute must watch for anyone interested in Islamic finance with shout outs to Omar Khaliel, Sultan Choudhury OBE, Raza Ullah and more. Check out the full episode in the comments below 👇

"Entertainment is the most powerful form of education and communication on a Global Scale! If we have no Muslims in Hollywood we open the door to other people control our narratives..." This week's guest is Global Marketing & Branding Expert Nabil Kazi who over the years has crafted and led campaigns for household franchises, from classics like Toy Story, The Incredibles, Tangled, Despicable me as well as massive TV shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy and More! We went deep on Muslim narratives in entertainment and how to take back control of our own stories. Highlights include: ⛔ The dangers of Muslim characters written by non-Muslims and what checks and balances are in place 📣 The power of branding done right and how to avoid the pitfalls of 'Islamic' branding 🎬 How to we take back control and produce our own content, from religious productions like Yaqeen Institute, children's shows produced by Durioo+ and Milo Productions Inc. to original content - do we need a Muslim studio in Hollywood? As always check out the full episode in the comments below

“Fintechs like Kestrl and Nester have emerged to fill a gap created by the existing Islamic banking industry… offering better user experiences and products to Muslims who care more than just trying to avoid interest…” Last weekend our CEO Areeb headed down to Regents Park Mosque to talk all things Islamic Finance at AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking & Economics Islamic Finance Forum. Alongside our fellow panelist’s including our ver own head of legal and Islamic Finance lawyer Ali Siddiqui from Mayer Brown fellow founder Youness Abidou from Nester and Faizan Haq from Finance & Leasing Association, we discussed; 👨⚖️ Why is the UK’s regulatory structure and consumer demand makes such an interesting breeding ground for Islamic fintechs 🕌 Does islamic branding need a rebrand to attract more diverse customers who could benefit from these products? 📈 Could we follow in Malysia and the UAE’s footsteps to achieve economies of scale and make financing products more affordable?