Tarfin received a certificate of compliance with Islamic Principles
Tarfin’s business model aims to bring millions of farmers together. Tarfin continues to utilize the power of financial technology to integrate the agricultural ecosystem.
Turkey's leading digital agriculture platform, Tarfin, has become one of the most important financial technology providers for Muslim farmers in Turkey and across the world by obtaining a certificate of ratification, which confirms its compliance with the laws and principles of Islamic finance. With this ratification, Tarfin has solidified its position as a contender in the $3.5 trillion global Islamic banking market by 2024.
Tarfin, Turkey's leading digital agriculture platform and one of the most heavily invested initiatives of 2021, entered 2022 planning to expand its customer base significantly. Following its application to the ISFA Islamic Finance Advisory Committee with this purpose in mind, the company received a certificate of compliance with Islamic principles for the Murabaha financing model used in the products it sells to farmers on deferred terms. Tarfin has thus captured the interest of thousands of farmers who could not utilize their financial technologies despite their needs.
“We will reach a broader customer base.”
Tarfin CEO Mehmet Memecan stated that his company is delighted to serve a large group of farmers who, due to Islamic sensitivity, cannot benefit from the full spectrum of financial technology. Memecan emphasized the significance of the certificate of compliance with Islamic finance laws and principles for Tarfin, noting that they provide farmers with access to agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, and feed at advantageous prices, as well as payment-at-harvest loan opportunities. "For the approval of compliance with Islamic principles, fintech companies must obtain certificates from advisory committees comprised of independent experts. Murabaha financing model based on the Tarfin-Point of Sale-Farmer triangle was approved to get The Islamic Compliance License Certificate. We believe that among the world's 3 billion people who do not have access to financial products, the proportion of those who prefer to live by Islamic rules is quite high. Regardless of religion, language, or race, we will continue to support and cover our farmers and sales points through our supply chain."
"We can export our financial technology.”
"We have supplied more than TL 700 million of agricultural inputs to more than 30,000 farmers, and we have supported TL 3.5 billion of production," Memecan said, adding that Tarfin has provided farmers with easy and smooth access to agricultural inputs through 900 authorized sales points in more than 70 cities. Memecan stated that since its establishment in 2017, Tarfin had drawn the interest of investors, saying, “We obtained the first capital investment with the angel investment of BIC Angels in April 2017. We finished the seed financing process in September 2018 with the help of regional and global funds like Wamda Capital and Collective Spark. In September 2020, Wamda, Elevator Ventures, Syngenta Group Ventures, and Collective Spark Fund participated in our Series A investment round, which Quona Capital organized. Since Tarfin was established, we have received an investment of $14 million, including the most recent pre-series B-bridge investment we obtained with the help of Yara Growth Ventures and other institutional investors.”
Tarfin CEO Mehmet Memecan also stated that by taking this vital step, Tarfin will attract the attention of Islamic Fintech investors to Turkey, and added, "This is a great opportunity for us to export financial technology not only to the West but also to the East." As a result, we anticipate strong interest, particularly from the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Gulf region."
