Kuala Lumpur, 15 February, 2023 - Based on the notion that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are commonly practised and deeply rooted in Islamic economics and investment ethics, Ficus today introduced the Ficus ESG-Islamic (ESG-i) framework, to guide companies, particularly the startups and SMEs to be in compliance to the four main parameters of People, Planet, Profit and Principle or popularly known as the Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL 4Ps). Each of these parameters will be prioritised at the different stages of the business. 

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At a session to share the framework, Hidayat Abdullah, Managing Partner, Ficus Capital said, “The objective of the framework is to prepare the SMEs and startups to be in full compliance with the following 3 main concepts of Shariah Principles, ESG and Sustainable Growth. These three concepts share the similar principles of being good stewards to the society and the environment through prevention of harm and attainment of benefits.” 

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He further added that the merging of these three philosophies is not new but has yet to be fully contextualised. Nevertheless, current scenarios such as climate change, global social interaction, structured risk governance and measurable growth have triggered the importance for these values to be consolidated and practiced. Smaller companies would benefit from this framework the most, with the framework emphasizing on gradual adoption, in line with the Islamic principle of tadarruj (gradual). 

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Ficus also partnered with INCEIF University, a knowledge leader in Islamic Finance to obtain feedback and refine the framework to make it better. INCEIF will also act as the bridge for FICUS to work with the industry, government officials, regulators and academia to obtain feedback and ideas how to make the Ficus ESG-I framework more complete and be adopted by the companies. 

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The framework is designed to have the startups incorporate the principles in their business practices and address the gaps accordingly. The compliance assessment will be carried out on an outcome basis through screening of the companies’ business practices, questionnaires and interviews in accordance with the QBL 4Ps parameters, as well as other established frameworks such as those from the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) and Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI). The assessment is done in stages, by ranking the companies through three tiers: 

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1. ESG-I Entry (No Harm) 

2. ESG-I Intermediate (No Harm with Foundation) 

3. ESG-I Advance (No Harm and Do Good)