Dr. Edib Smolo is an Assistant
Professor and former Chair of the Finance Department and Director of the
Master of Science in Finance program at Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia. Additionally, he is the Global Shari'ah Coordinator for a
fintech startup based in Karachi, Pakistan. With experience in Islamic
banking and finance, he has worked in a wide range of countries and for
numerous multinational corporations and government agencies.
Prior
to this position, he served as Assistant Professor and Vice-Dean for
Scientific and Research Activities at the International University of
Sarajevo's Faculty of Business and Administration. His previous
positions included International Islamic Finance Manager at Tosan, Iran,
and Islamic Finance Manager at Indra Technology Solutions Malaysia.
During his time at International Islamic Liquidity Management
Corporation (IILM), he developed the first short Islamic instrument with
a global consensus that won the 2013 REDmoney global deal award. In a
previous role, he worked as a researcher and coordinator for the Islamic
Banking & Capital Markets unit at the International Shari'ah
Research Academy (ISRA).
He holds a Ph.D. from the International
Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), Malaysia's Global
University of Islamic Finance. His degrees include a Bachelor of
Economics (Honours) and a Bachelor of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Heritage (Honors), as well as a Master of Economics from International
Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Malaysia. As part of a joint
initiative formed by the New Bulgarian University and the Council of
Europe, he also holds a Certificate for Professional Specialization in
Political Management from the Bulgarian School of Politics.
In
addition to writing and co-authoring several chapters in books, he also
contributed to refereed journals on a variety of topics. He published “Introduction to Islamic Economics and Finance: Theory and Practice"
in Bosnian in 2013. Aside from Islamic banking and finance, his
interests include economic growth and development, financial
development, market structure (bank concentration/competition), and EU
and Western Balkan economic and financial issues. Additionally, he is a
regular speaker, trainer, and consultant on various Islamic finance
topics.
In addition to the EU and Western Balkans, he is open to
collaboration with interested parties in other regions and for research
and project collaboration.
