FinPro Consultants Ltd. recently organized an online discussion session titled “FinTalk: Islamic Finance Talents: Role of Universities” to provide a holistic view on building a skilled workforce in Islamic banking in Bangladesh. It was organized to discuss the current job market in Bangladesh in Islamic Finance and to encourage people to build a career in it.

The webinar hosted by Zoom was attended by a good number of participants from different disciplines from home and abroad. It was broadcasted live on Facebook.

The speakers were Dr. Mohammad Main Uddin, Professor, Rajshahi University, Dr. Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous Chowdhury, Associate Professor, Sylhet University of Science and Technology, Mahfuza Khatun, Assistant Professor, Jahangirnagar University and Mezbah Uddin Ahmed, Researcher, International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA), Malaysia. The discussion was moderated by Dr. M Mahabbat Hossain, Faculty Member, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management.

Md. Latiful Islam, Chairman, FinPro Consultants Limited, said at the beginning that the number of manpower in the sector is not increasing at the same rate as the spread of Islamic finance in the country, which could be an obstacle to the progress of Islamic finance.

[Dr Ashraf Ferdous said Islamic banks, which account for about 25 percent of the country’s banking market share and 35 per cent of remittances, have ample career opportunities. However, due to the traditional method of recruitment, the job seekers or students are focusing more on the traditional method instead of studying Islamic finance.

[[Mezbah Uddin Ahmed sheds light on what can be done in Bangladesh in the light of Malaysia’s experience in advancing Islamic finance.
Referring to Dr. Main Uddin’s discussion, Mahfuza Khanam said that it is a long process to open a new department on Islamic finance in universities, but if the demand is made visible, it is possible in whether public or private sectors.

Summarizing the discussion, Dr.Mahabbat Hossain mentioned the name of some institutions in Bangladesh who organize various trainings and courses to build manpower in the field of Islamic finance. However, all these activities are not enough. If Islamic finance, which claims a 25 per cent market share in the country’s banking sector, collapses, there will be a backlash in the economy as a whole. Sustainable development of this industry is possible through devevelopment of talents in Islamic Finance if all including policy makers work together.

FinPro Consultants Limited was launched in 2019 by a team of experienced bankers, IT professionals and chartered accountants with the aim of contributing to the country’s financial, corporate and SME sectors through training and consultancy.