Islamic finance for small and medium enterprises: challenges and solutions

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the economy. In developing countries, these companies play an important role in creating employment, especially for women. Investing in the development of SMEs is a long-term and smart strategy with sustainable returns. SMEs constitute the vast majority of companies. Globally, SMEs constitute more than 95% of all productive units, when formal and informal SMEs are considered, about 50% of GDP and 60-70% of total employment are linked to SMEs. Since the global financial crisis, improving access to capital for small and medium enterprises has been on the agenda of global reforms. The purpose of this article is to examine the development and growth opportunities as well as the main challenges of Islamic financing for small and medium enterprises. This article will help to deepen the understanding of Islamic finance concepts as well as small and medium industries. In addition, it provides solutions for Islamic financial institutions to support small and medium industries.