Officials during the signing ceremony.
Doha, Qatar: The General Directorate of Endowments at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Wahed Mena, a global leader in Islamic financial technology, to develop and launch a pilot smart platform powered by artificial intelligence for analyzing Shariah-compliant stocks.
The agreement reflects the ministry’s commitment to leveraging innovation and artificial intelligence to enhance institutional performance and support the objectives of its 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, which prioritises digital transformation, institutional innovation, operational efficiency, and sustainability.
Signed on June 9, 2026, the partnership combines the General Directorate of Endowments’ expertise in managing and supervising endowment assets in accordance with Islamic principles and Qatar’s regulatory framework with Wahed Mena’s global capabilities in Islamic fintech. The collaboration seeks to develop an advanced system for classifying and analyzing stocks listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and assessing their compliance with Shariah principles using cutting-edge AI technologies.
The planned platform will introduce a more intelligent and efficient mechanism for stock screening and classification, helping improve the accuracy of Shariah compliance verification, strengthen governance and transparency in endowment investment management, and provide advanced tools to support investment decisions based on both Islamic and financial criteria.
The platform will utilise a range of modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, natural language processing (NLP), and financial ratio analysis. It will feature a bilingual Arabic-English interface and offer advanced functions such as dividend screening, monitoring Shariah compliance over different time periods, investment risk analysis, and an AI-powered assistant to support internal Shariah review and analysis processes.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mohammed Abdullah Al Harmi, Director of the Investment Department at the General Directorate of Endowments, described the MoU as a significant milestone in the development of endowment operations and a reflection of efforts to harness modern technology to improve investment efficiency and achieve long-term sustainability.
“The next phase requires the development of investment tools and methodologies that keep pace with the rapid transformations taking place in financial markets,” Al Harmi said. “This partnership seeks to utilise artificial intelligence in the Shariah classification of stocks, enhancing the accuracy of investment decisions while improving the efficiency and reliability of evaluation and compliance-review processes.”
He added that the partnership with Wahed Mena represents a strategic addition due to the company’s international expertise and advanced technological solutions, which are expected to strengthen governance, transparency, and sustainable returns that support the objectives of endowments and expand their developmental and social impact.
For his part, Khalid Jassim, Chairman of Wahed Middle East and North Africa, said the partnership demonstrates the company’s commitment to using technology to advance the principles of Islamic finance.
“Our collaboration with the General Directorate of Endowments is an important step toward developing more precise and efficient tools for analyzing Shariah-compliant investments,” he said.
