The Double Bottom Line Commitment And Microfinance Sustainability in Pakistan

Abstract

The rapid spread of Corona virus 19 (COVID 19) and its associated economic impact has again turned the spotlight on Islamic finance and banking to save the world from its economic consequences. Islamic finance by principle is an ethical finance which intends to help the poor and vulnerable under crisis. It has various financial tools like, Zakat, Sadaqa, Awaqaf and Qardh-Al-Hasan, especially designed for this purpose. Among various tools of Islamic finance, Qardh-Al-Hasan has emerged as the most viable Islamic finance weapon in the fight against the economic consequences of crises like COVID 19 and financial meltdowns. Against such a backdrop, the present chapter explores the possibility how Qardh-Al-Hasan can be used as an Islamic finance tool to help the COVID 19 affected SMEs and individuals. The present study is exploratory in nature as it explores the possibility of Qardh-Al- Hasan as the landscape in fighting the economic impact of Covid-19 on small businesses and individuals. The study proposes an Artificial Intelligence-based FinTech model to provide a solution for the affected SMEs and individuals to fight the economic consequences of this pandemic and survive. The findings of the chapter suggest that Qardh- Al-Hasan is a beautiful selfless financial service in Islamic finance which must be used in combination with Fintech like Artificial Intelligence to save the poor and affected SMEs from this pandemic.