Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 19 April 2023 - A novel financing mechanism, “Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk,” has been selected as the first-place winner of the prestigious Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Prize for Impactful Achievement in Islamic Economics for the year 1444H (2023).

Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk, an initiative of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, is the first large-scale program to finance social projects via non-profit instruments supervised by the government. This form of financing enhances the diversity of the Islamic capital markets and supports the integration between commercial and social Islamic finance.

The IsDB Prize for Impactful Achievement in Islamic Economics is awarded to outstanding achievements alternating every year between two branches: Development Achievement and Knowledge Contribution.

This year the award is dedicated to Development Achievement and aims to recognize, reward, and encourage the implementation of impactful and innovative projects to solve major development challenges of IsDB member countries. The prize comes with a US$100,000 award for the first prize winner, US$70,000 for the second prize, and US$30,000 for the third prize. However, the second and third-position prizes are withheld this year.

Every year the winners of the IsDB Prize are selected by a different committee of experts from outside the IsDB Group, whose work is coordinated by the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

The winner of this year’s prize will receive the award during the IsDB Group Annual Meetings, scheduled for 10 – 13 May 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Here is the full citation issued by the prize selection committee:

Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk

• The concept of permanent and temporary cash waqf has been around for centuries. However, Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk (CWLS) is the first large-scale program to finance public projects via non-profit instruments supervised by the government. This form of financing shall enhance the diversity of the Islamic capital markets and support the integration between commercial and social Islamic finance.
• The present CWLS model can be enhanced in many ways to make a stronger and more lasting impact. The model has great potential, and the prize aims to encourage the winner and other Islamic financial institutions to capitalize on it and take it to the next level.

Considering this, the IsDB Prize Selection Committee decided to award the IsDB Prize for Impactful Achievement in Islamic Economics (1444H, 2023) to Cash Waqf Linked Sukuk as the first-place winner.