The Impact of Fintech on Islamic Finance and Capital Markets in Qatar Using Network Analysis

This study investigates how financial technology firms interface with Islamic financial institutions, regulatory bodies, and capital-market venues in Qatar. It aims to map the structural relationships within Qatar’s Islamic-fintech ecosystem and identify the principal hubs, bridges, and peripheral actors that shape market connectivity and innovation diffusion. We assemble a comprehensive relational dataset of formal partnerships, regulatory linkages, and co-partnership agreements among key actors (Islamic banks, the Qatar Central Bank, payment schemes, fintech start-ups, and the Qatar Stock Exchange). An undirected adjacency matrix is constructed, and standard network-analysis techniques—degree strength, betweenness, and eigenvector centralities—are computed. Community structures are detected using the Louvain algorithm, with robustness checks via null-model testing and weighted-edge specifications. The identification of high-centrality institutions and bridging fintech provides actionable insights for regulators and financial institutions seeking to optimize strategic alliances. Start-ups can target hub entities to accelerate market entry, while policymakers can design sandbox initiatives to integrate under-connected segments and strengthen ecosystem cohesion. A more integrated Islamic-fintech network can enhance financial inclusion by extending Sharia-compliant digital services to underserved populations. Network diagnostics inform interventions that broaden access to innovative financial products and improve socio-economic welfare across Qatar. This is the first empirical network-analysis of Qatar’s Islamic-fintech landscape, offering a transferable methodological framework for comparative studies. By bridging abstract network theory with sector-specific data, the paper advances understanding of fintech–Islamic finance convergence in high-growth markets.