DinarStandard

What DinarStandard does

DinarStandard is a private research and advisory firm specializing in the global halal/ethical economy, founded in 2008 by Rafi-uddin Shikoh and operating as Strategy Insights Inc. (DBA: DinarStandard), a New Jersey-registered corporation. The firm serves government agencies, multinational corporations, and investment firms seeking to understand and capitalize on the multi-trillion-dollar global Islamic economy across seven sectors: halal food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, modest fashion, travel, media & recreation, and Islamic finance. Its client roster includes UNHCR, MasterCard, the UAE Prime Minister's Office, COMCEC, Thomson Reuters, Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism, and various GCC sovereign entities and private equity firms. The firm operates from offices in the USA (Branchburg, NJ — headquarters), KSA (Madinah — regional HQ), and UAE (Dubai — regional HQ), with operational presence in Indonesia and Nigeria and engagements across 12+ countries.

The firm's core products are annual research reports — most notably the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report, now in its 12th edition (2025/26), and the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Report, co-produced with Elipses — alongside proprietary indices such as the DS100 ranking of the top 100 OIC companies by revenue. Underlying these are proprietary methodologies including the Halal Trade Opportunity Intersection Analysis, the Islamic Growth Markets Investment Credentials Ranking methodology (developed for Thomson Reuters), and the Future Innovation Megatrends Model. An internal research intelligence platform called ImpactIntell supports data collection, dashboarding, and exploratory LLM applications. Advisory services are organized across Growth Strategy, Investment, Public Policy, and Halal Ethical Economy functions.

DinarStandard generates revenue primarily through project-based consulting engagements sold to enterprises and governments on a quote basis, supplemented by recurring revenue from industry report sales and licensing. The firm employs a sales-led go-to-market motion built on thought leadership publications, conference speaking, media coverage (1,500+ mentions), and referrals rather than paid acquisition channels. The company remains founder-controlled with no disclosed external institutional investors, partnerships, or acquisitions, and reports a headcount of 1-10 employees.

Name

DinarStandard

Legal name

Strategy Insights Inc.

Website

https://dinarstandard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DinarStandard is a private research and advisory firm specializing in the global halal and Islamic economy, producing flagship industry reports and delivering consulting to governments, multinational corporations, and investment firms across 12+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting Services

NAICS

International Affairs (928120)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Treasury, Capital Structure & Liquidity Advisory (BPAHADAM)

Keywords

• Growth strategy advisory
• Islamic economy research
• Halal market intelligence
• Strategic consulting services
• Industry research reports

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Strategic Advisory & Consulting Services: DinarStandard provides growth strategy research and execution management services to governments, multinationals, and investment firms. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements involving market assessments, strategy development, and implementation support.
2. Industry Research Reports: The company produces annual flagship reports including the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report and Global Islamic Fintech Report. These reports serve as thought leadership tools and are sold or licensed to industry participants, investors, and government entities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DinarStandard is a growth strategy research and advisory firm that produces flagship annual industry reports on the global Islamic economy (including the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report and Global Islamic Fintech Report) and delivers project-based consulting engagements to government agencies, multinational corporations, and investment firms on halal/Islamic economy strategy, investment opportunity identification, and public policy advisory.

Product overview

DinarStandard is a growth strategy research and advisory firm offering a portfolio of annual research reports and advisory consulting services. The core research products include the State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) Report (now in its 12th edition), the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Report (co-produced with Elipses), the Thrive North America Muslim Market Report, and sector-specific reports like Saudi Arabia's Halal Market Opportunity Report and Bangladesh 2050. These reports are complemented by advisory services across Growth Strategy, Investment, Public Policy, and Halal Ethical Economy functions, serving industries including Financial Services, Food & Agriculture, Travel/Tourism, and Government Agencies. The firm also maintains proprietary indices like the DS100 Ranking of top OIC companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• State of the Global Islamic Economy Report (SGIE)
• Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Report
• Thrive - North America Muslim Market Report
• Saudi Arabia's Halal Market Opportunity Report 2024/2025
• Bangladesh 2050 Report
• Creative Dubai Impact Report
• Advisory Services - Growth Strategy
• Advisory Services - Investment
• Advisory Services - Public Policy
• Advisory Services - Halal Ethical Economy
• DS100 Ranking

Quantifiable outcome

• Served clients from over 12 countries with government agencies, multinationals, and investment firms
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HPDC (Halal Products Development Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between DinarStandard and HPDC (a PIF subsidiary) to empower Saudi halal product companies and elevate the Kingdom's global competitiveness. Jointly produced the Saudi Arabia's Halal Market Opportunity Report 2024/2025.
• ElipsescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production of the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Report 2025/26. Elipses, a leading ethical digital finance advisory and investment firm, partners with DinarStandard to produce this annual industry report.
• Muslimi and American Muslim Consumer Consortium (AMCC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Thrive 2025 - North America Muslim Market Report, producing comprehensive market intelligence on the $186 billion North America Muslim market opportunity.
• SalaamGateway.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with SalaamGateway.com, the largest Islamic economy news and media platform, for GIFT Report 2022. SalaamGateway serves as the official media partner for report dissemination.
• Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for GIFT Report 2022, supporting the production and dissemination of the Islamic fintech industry report.
• IFIN ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for GIFT Report 2022, contributing to the Islamic fintech industry analysis and report production.
• Asosiasi Fintech Syariah Indonesia (AFSI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for GIFT Report 2022, providing Indonesia perspective and network for Islamic fintech research.
• KNEKS (National Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance, Indonesia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for GIFT Report 2022, contributing Indonesian Islamic economy expertise and stakeholder network.
• ALAMIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for GIFT Report 2022, supporting Islamic fintech industry research and report dissemination.
• Aoin DigitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for GIFT Report 2022, contributing digital finance expertise to the report.
• DDCAP GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for GIFT Report 2022, providing Islamic finance infrastructure perspective.
• Sabre Hospitality SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Sabre Hospitality Solutions for conceptualizing a differentiated Umrah marketplace platform as a new venture for a KSA-based private sector corporation.
• Thomson ReutersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThomson Reuters engaged DinarStandard to conduct market and landscape analysis, and design an index ranking OIC countries for investment credentials across select sectors.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• IFN (Islamic Finance News) / Refinitiv: IFN, owned by Refinitiv (LSEG), is the long-established global intelligence and news service for the Islamic finance industry. It competes with DinarStandard's research products as a reference data, news, and analysis provider to the same institutional and government audience.
• PwC (Islamic Finance practice): PwC's Middle East Islamic Finance and Halal Economy advisory teams compete for GCC and OIC government mandates at higher price points with a full-service delivery model; several DinarStandard alumni, including Aaliya Mia, originated from PwC.
• Standard & Poor's Global (Islamic Finance): S&P Global Ratings operates a recognized Islamic Finance rating and research franchise and has partnered with DinarStandard's ecosystem on OIC-focused research, addressing overlapping institutional investor and sovereign audiences.
• EY (Islamic Finance practice): EY's global Islamic Financial Services and OIC advisory practice serves sovereign wealth funds, regulators, and Shariah-compliant banks across the same geographies as DinarStandard, with comparable expertise in Islamic finance strategy and economic diversification mandates.
• KPMG (Islamic Finance practice): KPMG's global Islamic Finance and OIC advisory practice serves many of the same GCC government, banking, and corporate clients as DinarStandard with a broader service portfolio including audit, tax, and consulting, making it an incumbent that competes on larger mandates.

Direct peers

• Elipses: Elipses is an ethical digital finance advisory and investment firm that co-produces the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Report with DinarStandard. It operates in the same Islamic fintech advisory niche, advising OIC governments and financial institutions on digital Islamic finance strategy.
• CrescentRating: CrescentRating is a Singapore-based halal/Muslim travel advisory and ratings firm that DinarStandard partnered with in 2009 on the global Muslim travel report. Both firms serve overlapping government and corporate clients seeking Islamic economy intelligence, particularly in travel and tourism.
• SalaamGateway: SalaamGateway is the largest Islamic economy news and intelligence platform and serves as DinarStandard's strategic media partner for GIFT Report distribution. Both organizations serve the same audience of Islamic economy executives, investors, and government officials with complementary content and data products.

Emerging players

• DDCAP Group: DDCAP is an Islamic finance infrastructure and intermediation firm that participated as a strategic partner on DinarStandard's GIFT Report 2022. Both serve Shariah-compliant financial institutions and corporate issuers, with overlap in advisory around Islamic capital markets and fintech.

Regional players

• HalalTrip / Tripfez: Tripfez (operating alongside HalalTrip) is a Malaysia-based halal/Muslim travel booking and advisory platform. While smaller and travel-specific, it competes with DinarStandard's travel-sector advisory work for ASEAN government and corporate Muslim tourism mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dinarstandard
• Facebookfacebook.com/DinarStandard
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dinarstandard

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DinarStandard