Australia’s Hejaz is looking to emulate the success of China fintech solutions provided by AliPay and WeChat, with an app that can connect Muslims across the world for Shariah compliant investments and more, Founding CEO Hakan Ozyon told IFN Investor.
“I have always said that Islamic finance has to go down a new path, a different route. It’s just that organic growth is not doing the job anymore. I feel like a real gamechanger has to come.”
Having launched the Halal Money app in Australia in August 2024, Hejaz is planning to launch this app in the UK next. “We’re launching there very soon with ETFs and we’ll bring our other offerings as well. The UK now is like Australia 10 years ago, it is quite fragmented.”
Explaining how this app could help transform the Islamic investment landscape, Hakan said the future could see an investor in Sri Lanka searching and then deciding to buy a property in the UK – with the entire transaction done via the app because of its global interconnection.
“That’s a gamechanger, it is going to really change the whole industry, not just in Islamic finance but in the conventional landscape as well. When everything is incorporated, I believe that not only Muslims but non-Muslims will come to us as well.”
While Hejaz is driven by this vision, Hakan acknowledged the road ahead is long and still fraught with challenges – because it is not possible to offer the same app the world over, due to regulations within each territory plus licensing requirement in different countries and regions.
For the UK, Hejaz is getting the localized version developed with modifications that include offerings of products offered within this jurisdiction. But the underlying engine will be the same as that powering the Halal Money app operating within Australia.
Stating this process will need to be repeated for each jurisdiction, Hakan said: “Once completed, I am confident that this app is going to be one of its kind in the world. Not just the Islamic world.”
Hejaz is going largely alone on this journey as Hakan said overtures to partners haven’t been promising, due to goals not being fully aligned. Pointing out the need to achieve economies of scale, Hakan emphasized how products have to be developed right so as to appeal to local clientele while also being suitable for the Islamic community worldwide.
Given the extensive resources required for this ambition, Hejaz is working toward an eventual IPO for expansion capital as Hakan said it will not be enough to rely on the current strategy of internal funding.
The firm is also aiming to roll out a pipeline of new products as well as reach out into what Hakan feels is still a largely untapped Muslim population of around 150 million in China.
