Abstract:
Islamic banking refers to a system of banking that is consistent with the principles of
Islamic law (Sharia). Recently, equity-based financial products (Musharakah) have
become popular among customers and bankers. Therefore, this study aims to
investigate the opportunities and barriers of marketing equity-based financing
products in the context of Pakistan. The research design of this paper is qualitative
in nature. Extant literature published solely in the Pakistan context was selected as
the main source of data, then applied content analysis techniques to derive common
categories. The common categories of both opportunities and challenges for equity based financial products were detected. Key themes identified for opportunities
were attracting new customers, shared ownership, risk mitigation, and inclusivity.
Further, key themes that emerged for barriers to disrupt equity-based financial
products were threats from traditional banking, legal barriers, ambiguous terms and
conditions, and inability to market every country since there are different
interpretations of Islamic financial products. This study has looked at both
opportunities and barriers of marketing equity-based financial products in the
context of Pakistan, where only limited insights are available to date. This research
would help the Islamic policymakers in Pakistan in developing strategies, setting
guidelines and policies on how to implement safeguarding measures in shaping the
equity-based financing products so that bankers are not at risk of losing investment
while continuing to offer services to customers
