UK Muslim Financial Exclusion Study: 23% Have Never Held a Mainstream Investment Product

University of Birmingham, 2024

The University of Birmingham's 2024 study on financial exclusion in Muslim communities found that nearly a quarter of Muslim respondents in the UK had never held any mainstream investment product — savings, ISA, pension, or equity investment — not because of low income, but because of the absence of Sharia-compliant alternatives accessible without specialist knowledge. The study identified this as a structural contributor to the wealth gap between Muslim and non-Muslim households, and named digital Islamic finance platforms as the most scalable solution available.

What this means for us: Our community is losing wealth every year to the absence of investment tools we can use. The founders building those tools are not building for a niche — they are building for 23% of our community in the UK alone, plus the global Muslim population with the same need. MBC funds those founders.

SOURCE: https://www.islamicfinanceguru.com/zakat