The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Funding Gap in Islamic Finance – A Reflection

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has estimated that the financing gap of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) is about USD1 trillion per year, of which USD700 billion is earmarked for infrastructure. Even though 40% of world poor live in OIC countries earning the equivalent of USD1.25 a day or less, as of 2017, the world’s 14 development banks including those of Asia and Africa have offered no more than USD175 billion to address the gap. Dr. Banda Hajjar, the IDB President, aptly described the available amount “represents only a drop in the sea compared to the size of this gap” (Moqana 2019). To meet the expectation of the SDG, the amount estimated is in the range of USD5-7 billion each year. Download.