At ICHCS we had the privilege of participating in the highly prestigious and influential Global Muslim Business Forum(GMPF 2022) In Malaysia, as he participated as virtual speaker in 19 October 2022.

For those who may not be aware, the  Global Muslim Business Forum was recently founded by the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific, a leading Asian Think Tank based in Kuala Lumpur and Global One, a UN accredited womens’ NGO headquartered in London. 

The aim of the forum is to focus on promoting strategic partnerships, dialogues and business collaboration among Muslim countries as they continue to rebuild from their current status quo,  their current economic crises as a result of such factors such as COVID pandemic and so forth that have overwhelmed the world economy.

For context in 2022, the Global Islamic Economy remained an untapped economic and business opportunity with over 1.9 billion Muslims spending over USD $2.02 trillion across six economic sectors, led by halal food followed in terms of revenue by  fashion, media and travel with projections highlighting that Muslims are expected to spend $2.4 trillion by 2024.

Our CEO; Eng. Ashraf Tanbouly took part in a panel at The Global Muslim Business Forum alongside several esteemed panelists including Dr. Ahmed Rabie representing Al-Azhar University, Prof. Dato Dr Jamil Haji Hamali, Chairman of the Arab-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce, Emeritus Prof. Dr. Choudhury Mahmood Hasan, representing the Manarat International University in Bangladesh and Usman Nizar, Chief Executive Officer, Monzsat Services, Malaysia and Pakistan

Eng. Ashraf Tanbouly spoke on how to best leverage the $2 Trillion market size in Halal Economy, below are some excerpts from Eng. Ashraf Tanbouly’s keynote for those who were not able to attend…

Pertaining  to the Halal market in general in terms of scope and regulations…

“It is an established fact that Halal market is growing extremely fast whether in food, cosmetics, tourism and other dimensions of the Halal economy. In the food sector, Halal is not limited to fresh meat and slaughterhouses, rather it is a complete ecosystem. A food supply chain that starts at  the farm, followed by slaughterhouses, food processing factories, additives providers, logistics, and finally catering. The whole supply chain needs to be compliant for the final product or meal to be compliant. The supply chain needs to be supported by a legislative framework, service providers and trained staff such as quality personnel, production personnel, butchers, and that also includes chefs.  Suppliers of all types already see the opportunity in the Halal market and are pursuing Halal certification.”

Pertaining to the Halal market in terms of cosmetics, travel and other industries…

“In the Cosmetics / pharmaceutical sector, the consumer demand is growing, but suppliers are not yet seeing the opportunities as clear as food suppliers do. In the travel sector, it is the same as the food sector, not limited to Halal meals; it’s rather looked upon and carried out as part of  a country’s ecosystem. We as Halal travelers, genuinly look for Halal meals but also a room without alohol, an outing that is suitable for a family, a tour guide that is familiar with Islamic requirements, assistance with Qibla direction and many more Muslim friendly and Halal requirements and all the nuances that go with .” 

Regarding the opportunity to connect buyers and sellers to further grow the Halal market…

“The most important objective for any producer or trader is to grow the business and find more markets; we support this growth through operating a free directory “ICHCS Commerce Platform” that connects halal producers, traders, and services providers from all over the world. Allowing global connections and networking that will support market growth. With that growth, business is responding by trying to fulfill the Halal market requirements such as products, certificates, and well recognised, trusted and genuine Halal brands.” 

On the challenges as it pertains to Halal certification…

“With this speedy growth comes hurdles, we have seen non-halal products get a Halal certificate and bear a Halal logo. In addition to that , we have also seen Halal audits performed by reviewing some documents without references to specific standards or even visiting the production sites. 

We have seen individual and small auditors providing certification according to their understanding of Halal and providing halal certificates upon receiving payment. 

I am not saying it is all bad, but at this state of expansion, what this market needs is  a collaborative approach between all parties rather than a competitive approach. 

We need consumers to become more aware of the importance of genuine Halal brands, how tgis impacts their lives and demand THE  halal brand and not just any Halal logo. An accredited logo and a reference to a standard. As an example of consumer power, we have seen patients in Islamic countries demand Halal proof of Multivitamins prescribed by doctors which actually  forced Pharmaceutical companies to research, makethe investment and become Halal ceritified

We need Muslim traders to live up to their responsibilities and demand accredited Halal certificates from their suppliers. As an example of trader responsibility, we have seen Muslim Airliners demand Halal certificates from all their food & beverage suppliers.

We need governments to mandate ‘halalness’ of products imported into their country. As an example of government power, we have seen countries legalize the requirement for ‘Halalness’ of products. Now we need to increase the knowledge and the awaress of these illuminating examples. I hope Standards’ bodies, legislators, accreditation bodies, certification bodies and consultants to work together and in harmony, share thoughts and experiences towards building a proper Halal Ecosystem. = Do we really need to add this? It is somewhat jarring in the buisliness like content of the article to suddenly add a religious reference like that, I’m also not sure that it is very relevant but what I am sure of, is that it would be much better not to mix business with outright religious inferences such as this – my recommendation, delelter that last like related to the prophet. 

Be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming announcements on our website as well as our Linkedin account to get more information on future appearances at global events of interest over the coming months…