For years, the narrative around Islamic investments in the US often painted a picture of an esoteric niche, largely sustained by capital flowing in from overseas.
But speak to Aamir Rehman, and a different, more dynamic story emerges – one of a domestic market quietly but confidently coming into its own via fintech.
“It’s great to see the fintech side of the US Shariah market,” said Aamir, chairman of Innate Capital Partners, a New York PE firm founded in 2017, at the IFN Investor Americas Forum 2025 held in June.
With a blend of enthusiasm and grounded realism, Aamir referred to the burgeoning landscape of Islamic fintech that was rapidly chipping away at the historical entry barriers for individual investors.
“These innovations are making it easier to access investments,” the Innate Capital chairman remarked, noting how digital platforms are demystifying what was once seen as a complex, specialized field.
From bite-sized equities to real estate, Shariah fintech shows the way
The opportunities for Shariah compliant investment, according to a panel of experts including Aamir, are far more expansive than many realize. From asset-backed credit and venture funds to PE, real assets, and particularly real estate, the landscape is ripe.
In the same way fintech had democratized conventional investing that allowed someone to buy a fraction of a blue-chip stock with a few clicks, Islamic fintech is making Shariah compliant opportunities more accessible. Mobile apps like Zoya and Musaffa provide on-demand Shariah compliance screening for thousands of global stocks and ETFs.
Real estate, in particular, has long been the darling of Islamic investors, offering a tangible, income generating alternative to conventional interest-bearing products. Fintech has made possible fractional ownership in a real estate syndicate that avoids interest-based loans, to a venture fund investing in ethical, socially responsible businesses – all structured to align with Islamic principles.
Online crowdfunding and P2P lending platforms are also creating new avenues for Shariah compliant capital formation.
At the forum, Aamir said to keep in mind the sheer potential of the untapped US market for Shariah, especially Manhattan – New York City’s crown jewel. “Easily a hundred billion dollars of assets, real estate assets, are owned on this island in which we’re studying today by Shariah compliant investors.”
Scaling Islamic content in the US still a challenge
Yet, despite this quiet boom, critical hurdles persist. While the panel did not directly quote Ehab Elsonbaty, the underlying challenges raised by the New York partner at law firm DLA Piper appeared to resonate deeply within the industry.
The little-spoken yet tacitly understood phenomenon of the Shariah investment world is that the US marketplace needs more Islamic content, but the growth is not coming on as fast as industry practitioners like it.
What’s happening instead is an intricate dance of establishing and scaling Shariah compliant financial products within the existing US regulatory framework. A recurring refrain from Aamir and his peers is the scarcity of robust, supportive Islamic banking infrastructure in the US.
While there have been encouraging developments, such as a new Islamic banking license in Minnesota, the absence of widespread Shariah compliant debt financing options remains a significant constraint.
It’s akin to building a magnificent car with a powerful engine but then finding there are very few specialized gas stations to fuel it, the panelists said. This dearth limits the growth of more sophisticated private market strategies, including intricate private credit deals and leveraged buyouts, which often rely heavily on debt.
While equity plays an undeniably vital role in Islamic finance – think of profit-sharing ventures or investments where risk is shared rather than transferred through interest – the Innate Capital chairman emphasized that “there’s a place for debt and for bank financing” to facilitate larger, more complex transactions.
Also highlighted were promising initiatives such as those by Stearns Bank which pioneer Shariah compliant financing for corporate acquisitions. These are not just isolated developments, but crucial stepping stones for the sector’s broader advancement.
“We need these solutions to unlock the next level of growth,” Aamir concluded, envisioning a future where Islamic finance is not just an alternative, but an integral part of the American financial fabric.
