The Market is Crashing, So They Say.

Alhamdulillāh! we recently had the opportunity to be one of the exhibitors at the "Reviving the Islamic Spirit" convention, and overall, it was a fantastic experience! The event took place at the Metro Convention Centre in Downtown Toronto. It featured a variety of Islamic scholars, speakers, and artists from all over the world. The estimates floating around claim around 15,000 attendees came through at RIS this year, Ma shā Allah! A massive shout out to the founders, organizers, volunteers, and all those working hard behind the scenes.

The Good

Manzil was one of the Pearl sponsors for RIS 2022, and our team was able to work with the event coordinators to plan and prepare for the event. Everyone's valuable efforts allowed us to showcase our latest products and services, from Halal investments and homes to Islamic Wills and Credit Cards.Manzil Team Photo by Manzil booth at RIS 2022

Manzil CTO Abdullah Mamoon from Customer Service and Sales is doing his thingManzil Co-Founder Sam Holako is doing his thingManzil's Marketing Guy, Ousama Alshurafa and Project Manager and Lead, AbdulmatinManzil's favourite, Saad Elharim, along with Manzil's Marketing Guy and Co-Founder showed lots of love.

The Great

Throughout the conference, which took place from the 23rd to the 25th of December, we were thrilled to see a heavy stream of attendees inquiring about our products and services. Our team utilized their expertise in Islamic finance to inform and advise the attendees regarding Shariah compliant Mortgages, Halal investments, Islamic Wills, and Halal Prepaid Credit Cards. A massive shout out to all the organizers at RIS for managing such a behemoth of a conference so well, Ma shā Allah!Our CEO, Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf, was one of the main-stage speakers for RIS this year. He spoke about the financial challenges Muslims in Canada face regarding Halal and Shariah Compliant Banking. The various products and services Manzil has introduced to date, and then talked about some of the upcoming products Manzil is working on and planning to launch in 2023, such as Halal Chequing and Savings accounts.

Manzil CEO on Main Stage RIS 2022Manzil CEO, Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf, along with Manzil's COO, M. Vedut, Backstage at RIS 2022CEO on Main Stage RIS 2022 Delivering Speech

So many people flooded our booth after our CEO's speech on the main stage with questions, Alhamdulillāh. We randomly interviewed people walking around in the Bazaar and some vendors, asking them what they knew about Manzil and our products. We passed out free Manzil Halal Socks and were pleasantly surprised to see some attendees wearing the socks during the convention.

Manzil giveaways

The Challenges

One of the challenges was being right across from the 360 stage. Although it was a means for substantial traffic to our booth, it took a lot of work to hold conversations with our guests and clients due to the sheer volume of the speakers and music on stage.Finally, the prayer situation could use more attention. We would have liked to see more emphasis on the five daily prayers and access control to ensure that the congregation is well-managed. Many people were walking in front of the Musallees (people praying), and shoes were all over the place. We realize it takes work managing such large groups of people, but a little more attention to organizing the prayers can add a lot of baraka to the gathering.Overall, though, Kudos and a huge Takbeer for the founders and organizers, and we're looking forward to an even stronger RIS 2023. With all that being said, we didn’t forget to have some fun in the process…

Manzil's Marketing Guy Deadlifting

Huge shout out to the super talented and wonderful photographer, brother Jamal Omar. Check out his Instagram and Linkedin profiles if you want to reach out.