Redefining Islamic Finance

Ashar Nazim on Building the Future from Riyadh By ISFIRE Editorial Team

In the second part of his exclusive interview with ISFIRE, Ashar Nazim, Founder and Group CEO of Aion, pulls back the curtain on his vision for the next generation of Islamic finance. The conversation moves beyond digital disruption to reveal a radical blueprint for rebuilding financial systems—powered by AI, rooted in values, and scaled from the heart of Saudi Arabia.

A System Built for the Past—or the Next Two Billion?

Ashar minces no words about the broken state of the current financial system: Because it treats youth as a compliance risk rather than a creative force.”

He points out that today’s financial models are relics—built for “asset-rich, middle-aged men with credit histories,” while the real market is digital, young, and demands meaning in money.

“Over 65 percent of our customers are under 35, digitally native, socially conscious, and global in outlook... yet their banks give them paper forms, opaque processes, and zero emotional relevance.”

Excluding youth, he argues, is like “Undercapitalizing the next 30 years of economic growth.”

The solution, Ashar believes, is not in tweaking old products but in reimagining banking as an adaptable platform:

“Stop offering products. Start building platforms that connect banks and businesses to build new financial ecosystems. Build a money OS that adapts to the user—not the other way around.”

The AI-First Blueprint: Values in Every Line of Code

For Ashar, artificial intelligence is not just a tool—it’s the personal CFO for every user, with the potential to infuse values into financial intelligence from day one.

“AI will become the personal CFO of every user—and Islamic finance has the opportunity to embed values into that intelligence from day one.”

Imagine a financial assistant that nudges users to invest in value-aligned, halal funds, reminds them about zakat, and flags investments misaligned with their ethics. But to get there, Ashar calls on banks to move beyond product silos and start building real use cases that

“Solve user decisions—not just transactions.”

He issues a warning to laggards: “Banks that start this journey now—even with small experiments—will be five years ahead in defining relevance. Those who wait for regulation or perfect tech stacks will simply be forgotten.”

Democratising Capital and Reimagining Wealth

Ashar’s vision is radical: “The new ‘bank’ is infrastructure... modular, invisible, and composable. The winners will be those who become the AWS of finance, not just another logo.”

He introduces the concept of “clickable capital allocation,” where bank customers direct their money into sectors and geographies they care about—with banks serving as enablers, not owners, of capital flows. This democratization, he argues, is the foundation for wealth-building at scale.

His moonshot for the Islamic finance markets?

“We don’t lack capital; we lack conversion. Over US$500 billion flows annually through zakat, waqf, and philanthropy—but most of it is short-term, fragmented, and inefficient. Imagine if even 20 percent of that were pooled into impact-driven investment vehicles. That’s US$100 billion a year—enough to seed or scale 10,000 businesses, build hundreds of schools, fund green infrastructure, and generate sustainable returns.”

He dreams of a “Programmable endowment engine”—combining the moral DNA of waqf, the transparency of blockchain, and the returns of sovereign wealth funds.

Aion: The Quiet Power Behind the Revolution

Ashar frames Aion as “Not just another scaleup,” but as a financial operating system quietly powering the next generation of Islamic and values-driven banking.

Aion’s SME underwriting engine is already “Reducing approval time from weeks to hours while keeping default rates under 1.5 percent—in markets where 5–7 percent is still the norm.”

The group’s work now spans Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, and Pakistan, with expansion underway into Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

A Call to Action: The Moment Is Now

Ashar’s message to banks and investors is clear: “Banks that plug into Aion can now leapfrog. Investors that back us now are backing infrastructure that will be mandatory tomorrow. This isn’t about early adoption. It’s about long-term ownership.”

Ashar’s vision is bold:

“In five years, I see Aion powering the rails behind the largest digital financial ecosystems in emerging markets—not as a vendor, but as a sovereign-grade co-creator. Built in Riyadh, exporting to 20+ markets. Think of us as the NVIDIA of financial infrastructure for the next two billion people.”

Leadership Under Pressure: The Human Side

Ashar closes with personal insights on leadership, resilience, and success:

“Leadership is sacrifice disguised as strategy. I cut my salary to zero before touching team pay. We renegotiated everything—leases, vendor terms, even coffee budgets. The hard truth? Scaling isn’t about being liked. It’s about being respected enough to make the call that saves the mission.”

His ritual?

“Four AM. Solitude. A walking brainstorm where I argue with myself—devil’s advocate vs. true believer. By sunrise, most days, the path is clear. Pressure doesn’t create leaders—it reveals them. And the world belongs to those who outwork their doubts before breakfast.”

The Next Decade: A Moral Silicon Valley

Looking to 2035, Ashar envisions a new financial reality:

“Picture this: it’s 2035, and two billion people across Asia, Africa and the Middle East are plugged into a financial system that finally works for them—not against them... This isn’t niche. It’s the new Silicon Valley of Islamic finance—rebuilt with moral code, cloud code, and the creativity of a generation that refused to wait for permission.”