First Ethical Islamic P2P Financing Platform Launched in the United Kingdom

An Islamic peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platform, the first of its kind, has been launched in the United Kingdom (UK). Qardus, a London, UK-based firm, states that it serves two purposes; one is to provide an opportunity for Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) to obtain Shariah-compliant funding, the other is to allow investors to fund ethical SMEs across a variety of sectors.

According to Qardus, the platform is open to investors in the UK and Europe (both Muslim and otherwise), with a minimum investment of GBP 100, offering a target return of 10% annually.

The platform offers secured as well as unsecured financing for businesses in the UK, average ticket size being GBP 100,000. Bo...