The Scholarship Programme for Muslim Communities in Non-Member Countries was launched in 1404H (1983G) with an objective to provide education opportunities for the academically meritorious and financially needy young Muslim students from non-IDB member countries to pursue an undergraduate or first-degree study in university and to train them in specified fields in order to improve their social and economic conditions, preserve their cultural and religious identities and make a meaningful contribution to the development of their communities and countries.

In the first year of implementation (Academic Year 1404H / 1983-84G), 53 students from India, Sri Lanka and Kenya became the first beneficiaries of this programme.

At present, the Scholarship Programme focuses on Medicine, Engineering, Agriculture and other related fields such as Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, Nursing, Nutrition Study, Computer Science, Forestry and Fishery. Only for the CIS countries (or former Soviet Republics) with their special needs has the IDB approved the inclusion of additional areas of study such as Administration, Management, Marketing, Finance, Banking and Accountancy.

The IDB Scholarship is tenable at any recognized government or private universities in the students' own countries but if not possible, the students may be sent to IDB member countries which participate in the Programme.

Under the Programme, the students are required to repay the loan after graduation and gainful employment, in easy installments, to a Waqf (Trust) fund set up by the IDB in each non-member country benefiting from the Programme. Besides, the students are also required to take part in the development of their communities, through their respective professions. The repaid fund will be used to provide scholarships for other deserving students from the same community to complement the IDB Programme and to ensure its continuity in the long run while the community development services rendered by the students and graduates will contribute to the overall development of the community.

The Scholarship Programme is also a joint effort between the IDB and the Muslim communities. To participate in the Programme, the Muslim communities are required to form themselves into a Counterpart Organization and to establish a Selection Committee. The Counterpart Organisations are requested to announce the Programme on behalf of the IDB, to deal with the applications and the pre-selection process (which includes interview and verification of documents), to distribute stipends to the IDB students and to undertake other activities as necessary. They are also required to form the Trust (Waqf) to facilitate loan refund and to launch and manage post-study programmes to support community services and development.

The Programme gives priority to students who have secured admission to universities in their own countries. When this is not possible, the IDB will seek the help of some of its member countries to provide places for them. As such, the Programme is also a joint effort not only involving the Muslim communities in non-member countries but also some of its member countries.

The IDB and its partners have a dream and a vision to develop the human potential of the Muslim communities. That is why the IDB has been consistently making commitments to these communities ever since the implementation of the Programme in 1404 H (1983/84). In brief, the IDB wishes develop the MIND (of the recipients of the IDB Scholarship Programme), the CHARACTER (of the IDB-sponsored students/scholars) and the COMMUNITY itself (which is the final target of the IDB investment).

Through Guidance and Counseling activities, the IDB also wishes the young Muslim professionals to be ready to dedicate themselves to their communities and countries. This is not possible without the motivation gained by proper understanding of, and commitment to Islam in all aspects of their lives including social, technical, personal and professional.

The IDB also expects its students to play a leading role in guiding and assisting the development of their communities, both morally and materially. Therefore, the IDB expects them to be good Muslims and good professionals at the same time. In other words, the IDB aims to create committed Muslims and competent professionals.

All the above features (a loan to individual students, a grant to the community, repaid loan as a funding base for a complementary in-country scholarship programme, local implementation by community organizations in the form of Counterpart Organization and Waqf, emphasis on in-country study and post-study community development services) are linked together in an integrated manner to constitute the basic concepts that characterize the IDB Scholarship Programme as a distinct community-oriented development programme.

In response to a request for places for some of the selected students who could not secure admission in their own countries, the Republic of Turkey was the first member country to respond positively to the IDB request. Since 1987 this positive gesture has been followed by Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan and Tunisia.