ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Islamic finance, with its core principles based on risk sharing, asset based/backed finance and with a strong emphasis on social justice could assist Muslim countries both in creating a more inclusive financial system that caters for the needs of the poor in a society and through this process enhance sharing the prosperity with a lower income or poor segment of the society. It provides a brief picture of the current state of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries with respect to financial inclusion, poverty levels, and shared prosperity. The chapter focuses on how the principles of Islamic finance could be utilized to enhance the goals of the World Bank Group (WBG). It analyses the challenges OIC countries face in increasing financial inclusion and interaction between financial inclusion and shared prosperity. The chapter provides concluding comments and policy recommendations.
