Singapore Startup Tackles Zakat Calculation Gap for Muslim Investors

From Early Loss to Financial Mission

Muhammad Ridhwaan Radzi built an $8,000 nest egg during his polytechnic years through disciplined monthly savings of $200. The achievement marked an early lesson in compounding, but a subsequent misstep wiped out the gains. He invested $6,000 across two ventures without proper due diligence: $2,000 in a business coaching platform that ceased engagement after payment, and $4,000 in an Indonesian peer-to-peer crowdfunding scheme that underperformed.

Those losses reshaped his approach to capital allocation and ultimately informed the thesis behind RizqX, the investment platform he now leads as managing director. The Singapore-based startup addresses a structural challenge in Islamic finance: helping Muslims navigate syariah-compliant investing while managing zakat, the mandatory 2.5 percent wealth contribution required when assets cross a minimum threshold and are held for at least one year.

Closing the Zakat Compliance Loop

Ridhwaan's interest in Islamic finance traces back to his education at Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah and crystallised in 2023 when he began producing content and hosting community events on halal investing. Engagement was consistently high, but access to practical tools remained fragmented.

He co-founded RizqX during his final year at Nanyang Technological University with a former national service colleague now pursuing a PhD in AI and machine learning at Oxford. The platform launched with a focus on syariah-compliant investment opportunities across South-east Asia, but the team identified a broader friction point: calculating and distributing zakat accurately across varied portfolios.

RizqX now supports zakat calculation across 16 asset and investment categories, allowing users to select their preferred methodology and designate beneficiaries among approved organisations. The platform aims to make wealth redistribution transparent and structured, addressing a compliance burden that many Muslim investors find opaque.

Institutional Validation and Expansion

The concept secured early backing from NTU, won a competition at the National University of Singapore, and later received support from NUS as well. In 2025, RizqX joined the incubation programme at Singapore Management University's Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Ridhwaan positions the offering as a counterpoint to the perception that halal investing is restrictive. His personal portfolio spans stocks, exchange-traded funds, and property crowdfunding. He points to modern asset classes, including global syariah-compliant ETFs, private equity, and venture capital, as evidence that moral, interest-free growth strategies are broadening.

His first exposure came at 17, when he placed $1,000 in an Islamic fixed deposit with CIMB Bank, earning a 2.38 percent upfront return. He later invested in Sabana Industrial REIT, Singapore's first listed real estate investment trust structured for syariah compliance, marking his entry into active portfolio management.

Gold as a Tactical Savings Vehicle

In 2023, facing a $15,000 savings target for his wedding, Ridhwaan allocated part of his $13,000 reserve into gold. Rising prices during the holding period closed a nearly $2,000 shortfall, a practical application of value preservation that reinforced his disciplined approach.

He lives in a four-room flat in Tampines acquired under the Sale of Balance Flats scheme and maintains low daily expenses, often eating at home or packing meals. His routine begins with dawn prayers at 4am, followed by focused work before an hour of exercise and office meetings.

If presented with a $1 million windfall, Ridhwaan said he would clear his housing loan, support his parents and wife, and reinvest the remainder into RizqX to strengthen infrastructure and accelerate growth. With only $100, he would monetise existing skills in WordPress website development, offering services to small businesses and organisations in his network.

Building Momentum in a Nascent Category

RizqX operates in an early-stage category where financial literacy, regulatory frameworks, and digital infrastructure for Islamic finance vary widely across South-east Asia. The startup's challenge is not only product-market fit but also educating a dispersed user base on the mechanics of zakat compliance and the breadth of halal asset classes.

Ridhwaan's framework centres on passion, purpose, and process. The passion stems from formative years in Islamic education, the purpose from a commitment to make Islamic finance accessible, and the process from hard-won lessons in risk assessment and transparency. The losses he absorbed as a young saver now inform the guardrails he builds for others navigating similar terrain.