A descriptive study on financial inclusion process of the refugees in Türkiye: An Islamic finance approach

Officially, with nearly 4 million displaced people, Türkiye is one of the countries hosting the most displaced people within its borders. This number is too important to ignore for a developing country regarding its social, cultural, and -perhaps most importantly- economic impacts on society. The best solution to minimize the adverse effects in these areas is to offer employment opportunities. Like everyone else, their well-being, social adaptation, and cultural assimilation depend on their living standards. The debate on the use of Islamic microfinance as a tool to combat poverty has continued since the 1970s. Some researchers or institutions have brought Islamic microfinance products to the agenda in specific periods and presented them for governments' use. Studies on promoting Islamic microfinance have primarily been conducted for sensitive elements of community, (for example the poor or refugees, who face more hardships than the rest of the people) and for countries with a high proportion of women who cannot integrate into business life due to financial barriers. This thesis discussed increasing the welfare of refugees in Türkiye through Islamic microfinance by reducing the negative effects of multinationalism. Within the scope of this thesis, a survey-based study was conducted with a group of participants consisting of refugees in Turkey in order to reveal the current socio-economic situation. Descriptive statistics method was used in the interpretation of the research data. Research findings show that the main problems of refugees in Turkey regarding financial inclusion processes are racism (being a foreigner), language barrier, diploma equivalency, work permit, wages/salaries.