Youness Abidou is the founder and CEO of Nester, a UK based platform focused on Sharia compliant real estate investment. The discussion covers his transition from traditional banking to creating a unique solution for the Muslim community’s financial needs.

Youness, a former accountant and banker, grew frustrated with the conventional financial system, especially after witnessing the 2008 riba credit crunch. He later identified a significant gap in Islamic finance for individuals needing financing between £100,000 and £5 million.

Alongside co founder Mohammed Paracha, Youness developed Nester to connect investors looking for ethical returns with borrowers needing real estate financing.

The team faced a complex journey to obtain a license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), eventually securing a new category of licensing that allows them to operate as a peer to peer real estate platform.

Nester does not pool funds; instead, it allows investors to select specific projects, offering returns of approximately 8-9%.

They currently utilize a Commodity Murabaha structure to maintain some sort of Sharia compliance, which they acknowledge is not ideal and complex but necessary tool within the current hegemonic riba regulatory tax framework. They say they want to move away from it in the future.

Nester is exploring expansion into Saudi Arabia and other international markets, with a long term goal of acting as an educational hub for the community regarding financial health and ethical wealth growth.