Islamic Finance Council UK wins prestigious award

The Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC), of which Shepherd and Wedderburn consultant, Graham Burnside is a founding Advisory Board Member, was recognised at this year’s Ethical Finance Innovation Challenge Awards (EFICA), which took place on 4 October in Dubai.

Sponsored by Thomson Reuters and the Abu Dhabi Investment Bank, the prestigious awards were established to recognise significant contributions to the promotion of Islamic and ethical finance and received over 200 applications from across the globe. The award categories are Islamic Finance Industry Development and Ethical Finance Initiative.

The $100,000 Islamic Finance Industry Development Award was presented to the IFC, a Scottish-based not-for-profit specialist advisory and development body established to promote and enhance the global Islamic and ethical finance industry, and was accepted on its behalf by IFC Board member Omar Shaikh.

The award assesses solutions and initiatives that address specific challenges of the Islamic financial services industry, taking into consideration ethical principles, industry impact, innovation and practical application. It was given to the IFC in recognition of its programme of ethical finance events which have become the UK’s leading platform for those seeking to promote a more equitable financial system.

Graham Burnside commented: “Winning the Islamic Finance Industry Development Award is a huge honour and a very gratifying recognition of the work that the Islamic Finance Council UK has been doing to promote the role of Islamic finance in the wider ethical finance arena over the past ten years. We are excited to have won this in the face of competition from much larger organisations based in the heartlands of Islamic finance and the award will make a real difference to what the IFC is able to achieve.”

Notes
Graham Burnside is a Consultant at leading UK law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, which has the largest banking team in Scotland.

Regarded as Scotland’s leading expert in Islamic finance, Graham has a formidable track record and is considered something of a pioneer in the field. Possibly best known for having structured and documented the first and only Shariah-compliant mortgage products operating under Scots law, he has also advised on the first fully Shariah-compliant commercial real estate financing in Scotland. Graham is an Advisory Board Member of the Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC).