Open Access

MSME AWARENESS OF ISLAMIC PROFIT AND LOSS SHARING IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

RUVIMBO NJAWAYA

UBD School of Business and Economics, Brunei, Darussalam

E-mail Address: rnjawaya@gmail.com

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PG MD HASNOL ALWEE PG HJ MD SALLEH

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7776-1164

UBD School of Business and Economics, Brunei, Darussalam

E-mail Address: hasnol.salleh@ubd.edu.bn

Corresponding author.

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https://doi.org/10.1142/S2737566824500063Cited by:0 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

In Islamic finance, Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) concepts are widely advocated as one of the most equitable concepts available for Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs), given the equitable nature of sharing one’s profit and loss. However, in practice its use is limited as challenges exist which include moral hazard and a mismatch of the competencies of contemporary IFIs vis-a-vis the risk profile of PLS concepts. These challenges of PLS from an IFI perspective had been extensively covered in the literature, therefore this paper attempts to assess the challenges of PLS from a consumer or demand perspective. It is argued that there should be a reasonable level of awareness and willingness for consumers to demand a particular product; it is economically inefficient to create a product for which demand is lacking. Using a mixed method research design which includes surveys to 177 MSMEs and semi-structured interviews with two Islamic finance academicians, the findings indicate a low-level awareness of Mudarabah and Musharakah amongst MSMEs. Further, the willingness to use PLS financing among MSMEs is also found to be low, notably in terms of the willingness to share profits with IFIs, as well as having reservations on IFIs to be involved in playing an operational role in the small enterprise. These findings prompt the need for enhanced marketing approaches to enhance the awareness of these concepts for MSMES, and at the same time, defining a selective target market to explore the willingness amongst MSMEs, should PLS financing be widely available in Brunei.

Keywords:

1. Introduction

The survival and sustained growth of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are pivotal to the economic development of any country. This is especially the case for Brunei, as it strives to diversify its economy away from an over-reliance on oil and gas. This emphasis on MSMEs is exemplified in Wawasan Brunei 2035 (Brunei Vision, 2035), under the third objective of building a dynamic and sustainable economy. Furthermore, in 2020, the Ministry of Finance and Economy published the Economic Blueprint for Brunei Darussalam which includes, among others, the need to “intensify efforts such as introducing well-designed programmes to help local SMEs and entrepreneurs gain business skills and become more competitive” (Ministry of Finance and Economy, 2020: Appendix II).

A key challenge for MSME to remain competitive is the availability of funding or financing. In this context, the role of Islamic finance in Brunei cannot be underestimated given that over 80% of the population in 2021 are Muslims (Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, 2022) and the assets in the Islamic financial sector in Brunei amounts to BND13.3 billion in 2023; this accounts to around 57.2% of the country’s financial market share (Brunei Darussalam Central Bank, 2024).

Amongst the various concepts in Islamic finance, one of the most advocated is the Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) concept that underpins the equitable nature of Islamic Banking; PLS encourages entrepreneurship and seeks to provide financing that is equitable for both the financier and the entrepreneur, especially given that profit and loss are shared accordingly. Here, PLS refers to both Mudarabah (Silent Partnership) and Musharakah (Joint Venture) which are the two main modes of PLS or equity financing.

Despite the advocation toward PLS, in practice most financing products offered in Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs), be it in Brunei or otherwise pertain to a debt-based relationship rather than equity relationship. The use of Mudarabah and Musharakah is overshadowed by the use of financial instruments with a fixed return and the dominance of debt-based financial instruments, such as Murabaha or Tawarruq. Samad et al. (2005) highlighted the combined use of Mudarabah and Musharakah accounted for less than 5% of the total financing of two large Malaysian and Bahraini IFIs. Similarly, Miah and Suzuki (2020) investigated the utilization of various modes of Islamic Finance in 18 banks of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council and found that approximately 90% of Islamic banking is concentrated on debt-based financial instruments.

Despite this noted divergence between theory and practice, equity financing continues to widely be viewed as viable. This research aims to investigate the demand (customer) side of PLS financing in Brunei, that is to assess the awareness of PLS financing and examine the plausibility of its development in practice. To that end, the following objectives are sought; firstly to investigate the awareness level of prospective entrepreneurs or current MSME owners/managers regarding PLS financing, and secondly, to gauge the willingness of prospective entrepreneurs and MSME owners/managers to undertake PLS financing.

Numerous literatures mostly focus on the supply side, assessing the limited usage of PLS financing, and providing approaches to operationalize PLS. There are few research studies that have studied the demand side of PLS financing; there are also few research studies that use mixed-method research design where the output of the quantitative survey is used as input in the semi-structured qualitative interviews. By using a mixed-method approach, it is hoped that a richer understanding is attained, on the opportunity and challenges of PLS financing for MSMEs in Brunei.

Understanding the viewpoints in terms of awareness and willingness of SMEs vis-à-vis PLS concepts is important for two reasons. Firstly, even if IFIs were able to operationalize PLS in practice in a cost-effective way, if there is hesitancy or limited demand from consumers, the product will not flourish in the marketplace. Secondly, if there are numerous awareness and demand for PLS products, the likelihood of IFIs fulfilling that demand would be substantively higher. Therefore, it is contended that the role of financial consumers in being aware and having some measure of demand on PLS products is pivotal for the creation and innovation design of the Islamic financial product.

2. Literature Review

Throughout the literature of Islamic financial concepts, it is generally accepted that the PLS concepts that is Musharakah and Mudarabah are “not only a legitimate contract in Islam but is also preferable over modes based on trade and leasing” (Ayub, 2007: p. 343), with PLS concepts deemed as the “real and ideal instruments of financing in Shari’ah” (Usmani, 1998, p. 12). These risk sharing or equity-based concepts have a long history in Islamic finance and were considered as the dominant form of financing in terms of investment and trade during the Middle Ages (Iqbal and Mirakhor, 2011).

Musharakah is a partnership contract whereby two or more parties agree to contribute capital into a joint venture and where the profit and loss are shared among the partners. More specifically, profits are shared according to a pre-agreed ratio while losses are shared pro-rata in line with capital contribution that is the equity participation ratio (Hassan et al., 2013). Mudarabah, on the other hand, pertains to at least one party or financier providing the fund while another partner undertakes the entrepreneurial activities. Similar to Musharakah, profits are shared on a pre-agreed basis, though unlike Musharakah, any financial losses in Mudarabah are borne by the financier. The entrepreneur in Mudarabah loses his time and effort in managing the venture (Khan and Mirakhor, 1989).

2.1. Supply-side

From a supply side or Islamic Financial Institution (IFI) perspective, PLS concepts not only provide an interest-free or Shari’ah compliant alternative to riba-based products, but theoretically may also contribute positively to the chances of business success given that the projects under PLS are constantly monitored. The active monitoring may improve the chances of profitability, as all partners including IFIs strive to enhance profit and reduce losses together (Samad and Hassan, 2006).

Despite the advocation of PLS concepts, contemporary challenges in the practical implementation of Musharakah and Mudarabah persist. One particular challenge involves information asymmetry whereby Samad and Hassan (2006) found that in their sample in Malaysia, Mudarabah and Musharakah are not popular due to the perceived risky nature of the venture. This pertains to respondents being uncomfortable with sharing management as well as incurring high monitoring costs. Findings such as these highlight the problem of asymmetric information notably vis-à-vis moral hazard when it comes to PLS concepts. Ahmed (2005) also highlights the operational structure of Islamic banks that uses debt-based financing structures as susceptible to liquidity risk, operational risk and credit risk, compared to a venture capital structure where Mudarabah is concerned. The risk of moral hazard is elaborated as well in Yustiardhi et al. (2020) in addition to the role that dhaman (guarantee) may play if the entrepreneur is able to provide a collateral.

Even among bank managers, though bankers may possess sound knowledge of fixed-return concepts such as Murabahah and Ijarah, Abdullah and Abdul Rahman (2007) found these bankers had lower level of awareness of equity-based concepts such as Musharakah and Mudarabah; in their study, they highlighted the lack of usage or exposure of these products in Malaysia as a determining factor for the low-level knowledge of PLS concepts.

2.2. Demand-side

From the customer’s perspective, a substantial amount of literature has been published on Islamic banking customers’ awareness of Islamic financial concepts. For instance, numerous studies in differing countries have highlighted the low-level awareness of Muslim customers on Islamic financial concepts including in Malaysia (Mahdzan et al., 2017; Che-Ha et al., 2016), India (Islam and Rahman, 2017), and the Philippines (Hadji Latif, 2021). However, studies such as these have primarily investigated the level of awareness of retail customers, and there are limited studies assessing MSMEs’ awareness of Islamic financial concepts.

Where corporate firms are concerned, studies have consistently showed low levels of understanding or awareness of Islamic financial concepts including Musharakah and Mudarabah. For instance, in Ahmad and Haron (2002), 38% of respondents in Malaysia were unsure of PLS principles and about 50% incorrectly thought this was the only principle used in Islamic banking. In Pakistan, Mohiuddin et al. (2018) assessed the case of customers’ reluctance to switch to Islamic banking during a merger partly due to a lack of knowledge or understanding of Islamic financial products or concepts. There are also concerns where unlike conventional banks, Islamic bank customers may also suffer losses in using PLS concepts.

In studies specific to MSMEs, similar findings are found to the extent where awareness is one of the most important factors impacting the acceptance of Islamic finance. Jaffar and Musa (2014) analyzed Halal MSMEs in Malaysia that were not using Islamic finance, and highlighted that Halal MSMEs had limited knowledge of Islamic finance which influenced their decision to use conventional finance. The importance of awareness and knowledge in uptake of financial products can be found in Al Balushi et al. (2019a); in their study, SME owners–managers in Oman understood Islamic banking concepts, were familiar with IFIs and most were interested in this type of funding for reasons other than finance such as specific financial services, non-financial services, and banking activities. Al Balushi et al. (2019b) also observed that SME owner–managers willing to use Islamic finance were influenced by their understanding of Islamic finance, their own characteristics, and their businesses’ features. The results highlight that small businesses that understood Islamic finance are more likely to use it than others.

However, there appears to variation in the understanding or uptake of specialist products. For instance, Rasheed et al. (2018) found that SMEs entrepreneurs in Pakistan have a favorable attitude toward Islamic finance, but have a poor uptake of Islamic financial products related to specialist products such as Mudarabah, Musharakah and Ijarah.

In terms of studies specific to PLS, mixed results were found. Jalaluddin (1999) who investigated SME’s attitudes toward PLS financing in Australia, found management intervention level and return rate as the most critical factors influencing SMEs to use PLS financing. In Morocco, Badaj and Radi (2017) identified factors that may influence adoption of PLS financing, which includes costs, loss of control, limited access to conventional finance, financial suitability, stage of development, and religious beliefs as variables that significantly impact attitudes toward PLS (Badaj and Radi, 2017). In Malaysia, Islam and Ahmad (2020) investigated the willingness and perception of disadvantaged women entrepreneurs to use Mudarabah and Musharakah as a micro-equity finance alternative. The found that though women generally understood the Shariah rules of Musharakah and Mudarabah, but they are less aware of elements such as transparency and trustworthiness, and they have a negative attitude toward sharing information about their business (Islam and Ahmad, 2020). In Brunei, issues pertaining to awareness vis-à-vis adoption of Islamic finance is also pertinent; Omar (2019) conducted the first study of corporate customers’ perceptions of Islamic Finance in Brunei Darussalam and discovered a lack of awareness of individual products such as PLS.

3. Data and Methodology

This study takes the form of a mixed method approach primarily used for the purpose of explanation, which means that one of the methods was used to help explain findings generated by the other (Bryman, 2006). In this case, the results generated from the qualitative research were used to explain the quantitative research findings.

3.1. Quantitative research design

The cross-sectional data were obtained using an online questionnaire designed in English and Malay, distributed to prospective entrepreneurs and existing MSMEs from November to late December 2021. Due to the lack of publicly accessible database of MSMEs, the questionnaire was distributed through snowballing sampling; Bryman (2008) highlights this method involves making initial contact with a small group of individuals through which they will establish contacts with other potential respondents. For this study, prospective entrepreneurs were defined as individuals who were planning to open a business within 12 months’ time. In total, 177 responses were deemed valid, of which 138 respondents (78%) are existing entrepreneurs and 39 respondents (22%) are prospective entrepreneurs.

Further, the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank’s (BDCB) classification of MSME is used, as shown in Table 1.

**Table 1. MSME classification according to Brunei Darussalam Central Bank’s (BDCB).**
Type of enterprise	Number of employees
Micro	1–4
Small	5–19
Medium	20–99

Source: ADB Asia SME Monitor.

To gauge the self-perceived awareness, respondents were asked to answer Yes or No, as to whether they are aware of the two concepts, Musharakah and Mudarabah. Aside from awareness, respondents were inquired on their willingness to adopt Musharakah and Mudarabah; the following statements were posed:

If available, I plan to adopt PLS financing in the future.
I am willing to share my profits and losses with the bank at a pre-agreed ratio.
I am willing to share information about business operations with the bank.
I am willing for the bank to be involved in the management and decision-making process of my business.
It is important to adopt PLS financing as opposed to conventional financing because of my religion.
My view is that PLS financing is beneficial to MSMEs.

Responses were gauged using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”. To assess differences in relation to the awareness and willingness of PLS financing, Pearson’s chi-square test is used to determine significant association between self-perceived awareness and the six variables linked to willingness to adopt Mudarabah and Musharakah. The use of Pearson’s chi-square test is pertinent considering categorical variables were involved (Pallant, 2010).

3.2. Qualitative research design

The semi-structured interviews were conducted with two university academics in the field of Islamic finance. The interviewees were selected using purposive sampling based on three main key consideration. Firstly, there are academics in the field of Islamic finance, with sound understanding of the key concepts in the field. Secondly, they also had practical experience with MSMEs either through consultations with relevant government agencies or NGOs, or involved in their capacity as board members and other related work involving MSMEs. Finally, both interviewees were of Bruneian nationality and therefore, had sound knowledge of Brunei’s socio-economic context.

The interview structure was designed to elicit and gain explanation based on the key findings and observations of the questionnaire, while also having the opportunity to probe or follow-up interviewees on additional information related to PLS. Specifically, the interviewees were asked eight questions based on the questionnaire results that covered the following information:

(1)	Awareness level of MSMEs regarding PLS financing
(2)	Factors influencing the awareness and willingness of MSMEs in Brunei
(3)	Efforts that have been made to increase PLS financing in Brunei

The use of the qualitative interviews was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding the awareness and willingness of PLS financing that would not be easily attained through self-administered surveys.

4. Findings

4.1. Quantitative data

4.1.1. Summary profile of respondents

As shown in Table 2, the questionnaire received 177 responses; the majority of respondents (78%) were females, with males accounting for 22% of the sample. Overall, the sample population was quite young, as evidenced by the mean age of 25. Furthermore, 61% of the respondents were between the ages of 18 and 25, 29.9% were between the ages of 26 and 35, and the remaining 8.5% were between the ages of 36 and 50. Unsurprisingly, the majority of those polled (77.4%) were Muslims, followed by Christians (10.2%) and others (Buddhists, Atheists, etc.) (12.4%), reflecting the religious distribution in Brunei.

**Table 2. Summary profile of respondents.**
Variable	Frequency	%
1. Gender
Female	138	78.0
Male	39	22.0
Total	177	100.0
2. Age
18–25	108	61.0
26–35	53	29.9
36–50	15	8.5
Total	176	99.4
3. Religion
Islam	137	77.4
Christianity	18	10.2
Others	22	12.4
Total	177	100.0
4. Education
Pre-college qualification	65	36.7
Post-college qualification	112	63.3
Total	177	100.0
5. Business Type
Existing	138	78.0
Prospective	39	22.0
Total	177	100.0
6. Number of Employees
1–4	110	79.7
5–19	5	3.6
20–99	5	3.6
Missing	18	13
Total	138	100.0

A substantial percentage of respondents (78%) reported they already had a business, while the remainder (22%) stated they planned to start one within the year. Microbusinesses with 1–4 employees accounted for 79.7% of all existing businesses, while small enterprises (5–19 employees) and larger businesses accounted for 7.2% of all respondents (20–99 employees). 13% of existing businesses did not indicate the size of their businesses. With regards to education level, 63.3% of the respondents had post-college qualifications indicating that the sample group was generally well educated.

Self-Perceived Awareness of PLS: There were statistically significant differences observed at the 1% level between self-perceived awareness of Mudarabah and Musharakah. These findings indicated a low self-perceived awareness of PLS with only 29% of respondents familiar with the term Mudarabah (Fig. 1), while 22% (Fig. 2) were familiar with the term Musharakah.

Willingness to Adopt PLS: Tables 3 and 4 show the results of a crosstabulation analysis of PLS with six willingness variables. The findings show a statistically significant relationship between general Mudarabah awareness and all willingness variables. Whereas for general Musharakah awareness, there was only a statistically significant relationship (at the 5% level) between general awareness of Musharakah and the intention to adopt PLS, the importance to adopt PLS due to religion and the belief that PLS is beneficial to MSMEs.

**Table 3. General awareness of *Mudarabah* vs. willingness.**
Statement
If available, I plan to adopt PLS financing in the future.	$χ 2 (2) = 8.254$ $χ 2 (2) = 8.254$ , $p < 0.05$ $p < 0.05$
I am willing to share my profits and losses with the bank at a pre-agreed ratio.	$χ 2 (2) = 11.505$ $χ 2 (2) = 11.505$ , $p < 0.00$ $p < 0.00$
I am willing to share information about business operations with the bank.	$χ 2 (2) = 7.997$ $χ 2 (2) = 7.997$ , $p < 0.05$ $p < 0.05$
I am willing for the bank to be involved in the management and decision-making process of my business.	$χ 2 (2) = 6.944$ $χ 2 (2) = 6.944$ , $p < 0.00$ $p < 0.00$
It is important to adopt PLS financing as opposed to conventional financing because of my religion.	$χ 2 (2) = 31.233$ $χ 2 (2) = 31.233$ , $p < 0.00$ $p < 0.00$
My view is that PLS financing is beneficial to MSMEs.	$χ 2 (2) = 16.210$ $χ 2 (2) = 16.210$ , $p < 0.00$ $p < 0.00$

**Table 4. General awareness of *Musharakah* vs. willingness.**
Statement
If available, I plan to adopt PLS financing in the future.	$χ 2 (2) = 11.408$ $χ 2 (2) = 11.408$ , $p < 0.00$ $p < 0.00$
I am willing to share my profits and losses with the bank at a pre-agreed ratio.	$χ 2 (2) = 5.830$ $χ 2 (2) = 5.830$ , $p < 0.10$ $p < 0.10$
I am willing to share information about business operations with the bank.	$χ 2 (2) = 2.080$ $χ 2 (2) = 2.080$ , $p > 0.10$ $p > 0.10$
I am willing for the bank to be involved in the management and decision-making process of my business.	$χ 2 (2) = 5.493$ $χ 2 (2) = 5.493$ , $p < 0.10$
It is important to adopt PLS financing as opposed to conventional financing because of my religion.	$χ 2 (2) = 22.478$ , $p < 0.00$
My view is that PLS financing is beneficial to MSMEs.	$χ 2 (2) = 13.832$ , $p < 0.00$

Figures 3 and 4 show a breakdown of the crosstabulation of the general awareness of Mudarabah and Musharakah with the six questions tested to observe willingness. The differences between those who responded Yes and No to understanding Musharakah and Mudarabah are observed. Both diagrams show that those who answered that they were aware of the concepts had almost double the willingness to adopt PLS in comparison to those who stated that they were not aware of Mudarabah and Musharakah.

Fig. 3. Awareness of *Mudarabah* vs. willingness to adopt PLS.

Fig. 4. Awareness of *Musharakah* vs. willingness to adopt PLS.

For those who were aware of Mudarabah, the willingness of respondents was greatest in response to sharing information with the bank (57%). Slightly more than half (51%) had the view that adopting PLS was beneficial to MSMEs and that adopting PLS was important due to their religion. The respondents had the lowest level of willingness to have banks involved in their management/decision making (29%).

Although the willingness to adopt PLS financing was still high for those aware of Musharakah, the willingness level is slightly lower than for those aware of Mudarabah. The highest level of willingness among those who were aware of Mudarabah was due to their view that they were planning to adopt PLS in the future if it were available (54%), followed by the view that religion is important as a willingness factor (51%) and that PLS financing is beneficial to MSMEs (51%). However, similar to those aware of Mudarabah, respondents have a low willingness regarding bank involvement in management/decision making.

While for those who responded that they were not aware of Mudarabah and Musharakah, willingness was highest with regards to the willingness to share information with the bank, plan to adopt PLS in the future, willingness to share profit and loss, the view that PLS financing is beneficial to MSMEs, willingness for the bank to be involved in the management/decision-making process.

Education: Many of the respondents had post-college qualifications (63.3%). However, education was not a statistically significant factor for both Musharakah and Mudarabah awareness (Table 5). Therefore, the percentages in Fig. 5 depicts no distinction between those who earned college degrees and those who earned pre-college degrees. Despite the highly educated respondents, overall, there was a lack of understanding of Musharakah and Mudarabah.

Table 5. Education vs. General Awareness of *Musharakah* and *Mudarabah.*
Statement
Are you aware of the term Musharakah?	$χ 2$ (2) 0.015, $p > 0.10$
Are you aware of the term Mudarabah?	$χ 2$ (2) 1.268, $p > 0.10$

4.2. Qualitative data

Question 1: Do you think Profit and Loss financing is important for MSMEs in Brunei?

PLS financing was viewed positively by both Interviewees 1 and 2.

Interviewee 1 has observed cases where PLS financing would better serve customers than the loan contracts currently available. Interviewee 1 gave an example of a loan contract with a farming business that faced numerous calamities and thus had difficulty repaying the loan. However, after a few years, the farming business was able to repay the loan. Thus Interviewee 1 states, “So it seems that if we are following equity-based, it will be better $\dots$ ”. Thus, PLS financing enables risk sharing and reduces the burden on MSMEs.

Interviewee 2 stated that PLS is especially beneficial for micro-enterprises and small businesses compared to medium-sized businesses because medium-sized businesses are more established and thus have more opportunities.

“Each enterprise has their [its] own strengths and opportunities. I would say the Profit and Loss financing would be applicable, [and] will be very beneficial for Micro and small [enterprises]. I don’t want to look at medium [enterprises] that much because medium [enterprises], they have a lot of opportunities out there because they have been established for quite a few years. But for micro and small [enterprises], especially micro [enterprises], I would say yes, it’s very important for micro and small enterprises.”

Question 2: The questionnaire results showed a low-level awareness of Mudarabah and Musharakah among MSME owners and entrepreneurs. Do you think this is surprising? Why do you think this is the case? There has been a large uptake of Islamic Finance in Brunei. Why has this not extended to an increase in knowledge by MSME?

The low level of awareness of Mudarabah and Musharakah demonstrated in the questionnaire results did not surprise either interviewee. Interviewee 2 stated, “It’s not surprising but it’s not a good number to see as Brunei is trying to become an Islamic Hub and eradicate poverty by 2035.”

According to Interviewee 1, when Islamic Finance was first introduced in Brunei Darussalam, the focus was primarily on sales, debt and savings contracts. The savings contracts were the only contracts where Mudarabah’s use was magnified. As a result, the general public is unaware of Mudarabah. Interviewee 1 claims that most people have only heard of Mudarabah in the context of Takaful, and even then, they have no idea how it works. Furthermore, the population regards Mudarabah as merely a return and is unaware of the risk element of sharing losses.

Interviewee 1 went on to say that the lack of knowledge is magnified for SMEs because they are unaware of the various contracts that exist. Interviewee 1 states:

“If you are just focusing on MSMEs of course, this [lack of knowledge] will be worse because they are not aware of what banks are producing or what kind of contracts banks are giving. For them, if banks are giving them financing, it’s always in the form of loans, so they [MSMEs] always thinking about debt, they don’t think what is the contract aside from loan, they are not aware of that, and I think most of the situations is that we don’t actually market these products properly, so they [IFIs] are more on marketing the tool of financing the funds, the advance but not the contract itself but I think that has to be changed $\dots$ ”

Interviewee 1 speculated that this could be because clients are ambivalent about contracts; their primary concern appears to be their obligation, the loan amount, and the payback period.

In contrast, Interviewee 2 stated that MSMEs may be implementing PLS financing but are unaware of it. Interviewee 2 believes that MSMEs are implementing PLS financing indirectly and are unaware of it because they do not understand Mudarabah and Musharakah. Interviewee 2 thinks that this is because the use of Arabic words is intimidating for MSMEs. Interviewee 2 believes that there may be cases where MSMEs apply the concepts because some MSMEs receive grants in the form of Mudarabah, but they are unaware of it due to a lack of terminology. As a result, it’s not surprising that there’s a lack of awareness. According to Interviewee 2:

“But if we inject the terminology Mudarabah and Musharakah, the Arabic words they get scared of that because they never heard of it $\dots$ but they are currently applying it $\dots$ They’re doing it, but they are unaware of it.”

Interviewee 2 states that IFIs or government agencies are hesitant to use terminology when providing PLS contracts.

“When it comes to providing loans, we are looking at the banking services, banking products, and we’re looking at those government organisations that provide grants for micro-businesses and home businesses. They are not using that terminology. So the exposure towards these two words are [is] not there.”

Interviewee 2 also states that IFIs are primarily focused on loans; however, if they implemented PLS financing and since they have the expertise, there would be greater awareness if they advertised these well. Malaysia and Indonesia, for example, have shifted away from lending and toward the diminishing Mudarabah contract.

Interviewee 2 believes more collaborations between academics (theory) and banks (practice) are required in Brunei to establish a working model of PLS financing. According to Interview 2, the COVID-19 pandemic has signaled that loan offerings are detrimental to both MSMEs and banks; thus, banks should shift to PLS because it is a win–win situation.

“Especially during the Covid19 $\dots$ it’s actually a lesson to be learnt that they [Islamic banks] should not be focused on giving loans like they used for the past 10–15 years, it’s time for a change that is a win-win situation for the people and for the banks.”

According to Interviewee 2, this low level of awareness is “because of the instruments that the bank institutions and the government are currently adopting, they are mostly loans. If they started introducing the product [PLS] everyone will know about it $\dots$ you have a little bit of exposure $\dots$ ”

Question 3: There were limited significant demographic factors influencing awareness. Are there any demographic factors from you experience that influence awareness?

According to interviewees 1 and 2, religion does not play a significant role in PLS awareness. They believe this is due to a lack of financial education in religion, except for a few talks organized by banks.

Interviewee 1 states “We seldom talk about the commercial aspect of religion so I don’t think that will be contributing much.”

Additionally, Interviewee 2 believes that businesses in Brunei should incorporate Shari’ah which will transform the way businesses view how they obtain finance:

“TV shows, [and] books are centred on the contemporary understanding of business. The thing is we [Bruneians] are somehow creating that fine line. So, this is a business and on the other side is an Islamic complying business. We are too carried away by the contemporary understanding of the business. I don’t blame the banks, but they can improve, don’t just use Riba and Gharar but include what is mentioned in the Qu’ran $\dots$ The understanding of how the business is being carried out is based on the contemporary [conventional] understanding of business.”

Question 4: MSME owners in Brunei are willing to share information and profit with banks but unwilling to share management with the banks. What could be the reason for this?

Interviewees 1 and 2 gave similar responses. They argue that because most businesses in Brunei are government-linked or family-owned; there is a reluctance to share management with banks. When it comes to family-owned businesses, they don’t want someone to be able to take over the company.

Interviewee 1 states:

“When we talk about family-owned company [companies], they are very reserved on partnering with others because it means that the company will be under control by someone else, so they are unwilling for that. I think that’s why they [MSMEs] are more reluctant to be partners with anyone especially banks because they [banks] can just take over at any time.”

Interviewee 2 elaborates on the distinction between microenterprises and small and medium enterprises. According to Interviewee 2, there is a lack of trust and the possibility of conflicts of interest due to the different perspectives of banks and microentrepreneurs:

“Microbusinesses are always dealing with struggling with meeting their daily needs. If they share the management of the business with the bank, the bank has a different perspective $\dots$ profit comes into the picture. But if you look at the microfinancing point of view their goal is not to make a profit but to meet their daily needs; they just want to put bread on the table. But the bank wants to make double or triple the profit $\dots$ So it’s two different perspectives, and if you want to combine [the perspectives] into one, there will be havoc $\dots$ it will jumble everything they [the bank] will interfere with the costs, and production and raw materials. The entrepreneurs will feel like the bank is intruding.”

However, Interviewee 2 believes that some bank intervention is beneficial to MSMEs, although banks must learn about microfinance. However, this is less of an issue for medium and small businesses because they are more aware of what banks want.

Question 5: The questionnaire results saw a large willingness to adopt PLS Finance. What are the efforts being made to increase PLS Financing in Brunei?

According to Interviewee 1, banks are currently focused on growth, so debt-based financing is advantageous. However, because of this strategy, Interviewee 1 claims that banks are excluding startups because startups require time to establish themselves and be able to make payments:

“Debt finance protects them [Banks] but for the clients, it’s not quite productive for them [MSMEs] because the client will be forced to pay even before they can earn anything. So, this will exclude startups, because if startups have financing, they cannot just generate income the next month, or the next week they need some time to establish themselves.”

Interviewee 1 cited SME360 as an example of a collaboration between banks (both Islamic and conventional) and the government. Even though they could use the PLS model, Islamic banks continue to use sales-based contracts because they are risk-free. After all, the money for SM360 belongs to the government. In the long run, Interviewee 1 is concerned about the future of Islamic Finance in Brunei, “if Brunei is going to capitalise more on the debt financing, it will be very discriminative on the MSMEs because they don’t have any place to go...”

However, Interviewee 1 believes that the venture capitalist model will work in Brunei because the only option for investors is to deposit their money in a bank, where the rate of return is low (less than 1%). The investment rate is higher when investing in businesses.

“Those investors will be willing because it will rid them of some fixed return, especially now the only way, they get returns is to park [their money] with banks, investment in stock quite high. The current rate is less than one per cent. If they are investing in a business, they can get more than one per cent. [For] Startups [venture capital will be more appealing because] the Venture Capitalist will not be too much involved in the management.”

Similarly, Interviewee 2 believes that crowdfunding is the future of PLS financing in Brunei. However, Interviewee 2 believes that venture capital is an outdated model and that there should be another platform to cater to microenterprises. Additionally, Interviewee 2 believes that banks can cater to small and medium ones because they are hesitant to take the risk.

Question 6: What are the efforts that have been done in the past to increase awareness of PLS in Brunei?

According to Interviewee 1, the most significant PLS endeavor was by an established Islamic Bank which focused on Musharakah, and they implemented this contract for housing contracts. This was a one-time project. There was a crash in 1997/1998, and the bank was left with the houses, having to maintain them even though no one was living there. The houses remained on the bank’s balance sheet for about ten years. More recently, this bank attempted to award Mudarabah contracts to recent graduates; the graduates would go to the government for tendering, the bank would provide financing, and the bank would share in the profits and losses; however, this did not take off because the graduates were uninterested.

Interviewee 1 states that currently, nothing is being done to increase PLS awareness or availability. This bank has now completely removed the Mudarabah deposit from its balance sheet. This is because Mudarabah deposits are costly, and most businesses are unable to accept them; and banks view Mudarabah as extremely risky, particularly in light of COVID-19, and they are concerned about being stuck with unpaid payments.

“Reason being most of the businesses are not able to take it. The bank itself they [sic] feel that Mudarabah and Musharakah is very risky to them, so they avoid it, especially now with the COVID situation businesses are not doing well so they are more afraid that they will be stuck with the respective debts or the nonpayment of financing rather than being partners.”

According to Interviewee 2, an established Islamic Bank and a Trust Fund have implemented PLS, mostly diminishing Musharakah when it comes to housing.

5. Discussion

The goal of this research was aimed at ascertaining a better understanding of the demand side of PLS financing in Brunei Darussalam from the perspective of Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME), including both current and prospective entrepreneurs. The study’s key findings are as follows: First, there is a lack of awareness of PLS financing among MSMEs in Brunei Darussalam. Second, MSMEs who were aware of PLS financing were more willing to use it in the future in comparison to MSMEs who were unaware of PLS financing.

5.1. Low-level awareness of PLS financing

The questionnaire results revealed that MSMEs in Brunei Darussalam had a low level of awareness of the terms Mudarabah and Musharakah. These findings, however, did not surprise either of the Islamic Finance academics interviewed. This pattern of findings is consistent with previous research (Omar, 2019; Ahmad and Haron, 2002; Al Balushi et al., 2019a).

The findings support the results of Omar (2019), who found that while there is a general awareness of Islamic finance in Brunei, there is a lack of awareness of Musharakah and Mudarabah among Bruneian SMEs. Omar (2019) attributed the low level of awareness of MSMEs in Brunei to the use of Arabic terms, as most respondents were Chinese and non-Muslim. However, most of those surveyed in the current study were Muslims, and they were still unfamiliar with the Arabic terms used. In fact, Interviewee 2 deviated from Omar’s reasoning and attributed the lack of awareness among all Bruneians, not just non-Muslims or Muslims, to the use of Arabic terminology.

This is supported further by Ahmad and Haron (2002) and Jaffar and Musa (2014) who found low knowledge of PLS financing even though Islamic Finance has been practiced in Malaysia for quite some time. Additionally, Rasheed et al. (2018) found that there was low awareness of PLS financing in Pakistan. In contrast, despite Islamic Finance being relatively new in Oman, Al Balushi et al. (2019a) found that SME owner-managers in Oman had a high awareness of Mudarabah and Musharakah, which could be attributed to their grasp of the language. Similarly, to Gait and Worthington (2008), Libyans were aware of PLS financing even though Islamic Finance had not been introduced in Libya. As a result, the use of Arabic terminology clearly influences awareness of Mudarabah and Musharakah.

Furthermore, Interviewee 2 stated that in practice, micro-businesses frequently use PLS financing but are unaware of it. As a result, investigating MSMEs’ awareness of PLS financing becomes extremely difficult because much effort must be exerted to first educate MSMEs on what PLS financing is before asking MSMEs if they are aware of it. This could be avoided if IFIs offering PLS financing used Arabic terminology when providing services rather than avoiding it.

5.2. Willingness to adopt PLS financing

Overall, respondents expressed a willingness to use PLS financing. This was consistent with the findings of Al Balushi et al. (2019b), Jaffar and Musa (2014), and Gait and Worthington (2008). In contrast, Edris (1997), found a low level of willingness among Kuwaitis even though Islam is the dominant religion in Kuwait. Additionally, the findings indicate that the more MSMEs are aware of Mudarabah and Musharakah, the more willing they are to adopt PLS financing, which is supported by Rasheed et al. (2018), Al Balushi et al. (2019b) and Bilal et al. (2020) who identified awareness as an important variable in the adoption of Islamic banking in SMEs.

Increased awareness, which leads to increased willingness, is required for PLS financing to be implemented in Brunei. However, as mentioned by Interviewee 1, while increased knowledge increases MSMEs’ willingness, this may not translate into IFIs providing PLS financing. This is because increasing PLS financing in Brunei is a supply and demand issue. Increased awareness of MSMEs can only go so far if the supply side is unwilling or unable to provide PLS financing. Thus, the supply side must be addressed. According to Interviewee 2, more collaboration between Islamic Finance academics/researchers and IFIs is needed to develop a model for PLS financing that can be effectively implemented in Brunei Darussalam.

However, respondents were particularly uninterested in sharing management with banks. This is supported by Badaj and Radi (2017), Jalaluddin (1999), Ziky and Daouah (2019), and Islam and Ahmad (2020), who observed that the lower the degree of management intervention, the more likely it is that small businesses would be willing to use PLS financing. According to Islam and Ahmad (2020), the low willingness to share control with banks is because respondents do not fully understand the rules of PLS financing.

According to Interviewee 1 and 2, MSMEs in Brunei are hesitant to share management with banks because many Brunei businesses are family-owned. Furthermore, Interviewee 2 stated that sharing management with banks is a particular concern for microenterprises due to concerns over potential conflicts of interest. This is supported by Islam and Ahmad’s (2020) research on microenterprises in Selangor. According to Interviewee 2, IFIs should make an effort to understand their clients, particularly micro-businesses. Thus, IFIs must communicate with and build trust among MSMEs for them to be less fearful of bank intervention. Furthermore, if there is more education on why banks will intervene, MSMEs may be less concerned which would increase the willingness of MSMEs to adopt PLS financing.

However, if Islamic banks are unwilling to provide these services, there must be another platform for MSMEs to access profit and loss financing. Interviewees 1 and 2 mentioned the use of crowdfunding as an alternative. This could be a potential for PLS financing to grow in Brunei Darussalam, especially in the COVID-19 times when businesses were faced with a lot of risk and uncertainty. The potential use of crowdfunding to meet the needs of MSMEs can be observed from the systematic review of Camilleri and Bresciani (2022); the authors scrutinized 72 articles that highlights the opportunities and challenges in various crowdfunding platforms that includes equity crowdfunding, lending-based crowdfunding and rewards-based crowdfunding, among others.

The former form of crowdfunding, that is equity crowdfunding may be of particular interest for PLS advocates in Islamic finance since it is the closest to PLS models. For practical reasons such as those highlighted in this study that includes reservations to share equity due to family ownership, lending business crowdfunding (LBC) approaches would be more appealing for those MSMEs. For instance, Stefanelli et al. (2022) assessed nine LBC platforms in Italy and found some advantages such as timeliness of the funding service, but also challenges such as high interest rates. From an Islamic financial context, there is undoubtedly a need to ascertain the Islamic financial concept or concepts that may work for a given LBC model where Shari’ah is concerned vis-à-vis the prohibition of riba.

Given the capital structure of businesses that may incorporate debt as well as equity, it is pertinent for future research to consider the viability of these forms of crowdfunding from an Islamic perspective, be it equity-based, lending-based or other forms of crowdfunding model. Having these alternative forms of capital providers or funds will enhance the potential for MSMEs to develop further beyond dependence on traditional forms of lending or providers of capital in Brunei, especially if there are reservations to provide equity forms of funding. Future research may not only want to ascertain the benefit and Shari’ah compliancy of such Islamic crowdfunding models/platforms, but also consider the level of transparency and efforts to mitigate information asymmetry including moral hazard.

6. Conclusion

Overall, the findings revealed that PLS financing is largely unknown to MSMEs in Brunei Darussalam. Despite this lack of awareness, MSMEs are still willing to use PLS financing. While there is a generally positive attitude toward PLS financing, MSMEs (both aware and unaware of PLS) are wary of sharing management with banks. As a result, IFIs must communicate with and build trust among MSMEs to reduce their fear of bank intervention.

Additionally, there is a need for future research that combines both the demand and supply sides of PLS financing to find a way to increase PLS offerings by IFIs while also increasing MSMEs’ use of these facilities. This could be achieved by collaboration between Islamic Finance academics and IFIs to develop a model for PLS financing that can be effectively implemented in Brunei Darussalam which may take the form of an Islamic equity crowdfunding model. The government should encourage this type of collaboration because PLS financing has the potential to contribute to economic diversification. This is especially important in light of the recent pandemic, as the risk-sharing component increases the usefulness of PLS financing. In case of the non-feasibility or practical challenges of PLS, other forms of crowdfunding warrants research including lending-based platforms or other platforms that conforms to Shari’ah.

A few of the study’s limitations could be addressed in future research. For example, because there were few responses from small and medium-sized businesses, the study leaned toward microenterprises. As a result, a sample with a more even distribution of groupings may provide further insights. Furthermore, because the use of Arabic was identified as a possible cause of MSMEs’ lack of awareness, research that focuses first on explaining Mudarabah and Musharakah is needed to eliminate the possibility of misunderstanding due to a lack of understanding of Arabic terminology. This will result in a more accurate picture of MSMEs’ awareness level. Future research in Brunei may also want to consider Islamic crowdfunding models that may be of interest for MSMEs which may take the form of equity-based, lending-based or reward-based models, among others; such as a diverse offering to varying MSMEs is pertinent to consider given the heterogenous needs and circumstances of differing MSMEs such as family-owned businesses or reservation on losing equity to external parties.

ORCID

Pg Md Hasnol Alwee Pg Hj Md Salleh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7776-1164

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Vol. 06, No. 03

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History

Received 27 November 2023

Revised 18 September 2024

Accepted 23 September 2024

Published: 19 November 2024

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This is an open access article published by World Scientific Publishing Company. It is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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