AlHuda CIBE is committed to extend its services to 15 countries of Africa by the year end 2014

Press Release

AlHuda CIBE Eyes African Islamic Finance Market


4th June, 2014
(Lahore) AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) chalks down the strategy to offer its services in African countries to promote Islamic banking and finance through consultancy, Research, education and capacity building where there is an excellent potential related to this industry. This was said by Mr. Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer, AlHuda CIBE, while talking to the media in the opening ceremony of “6 months road map for the strategy of Islamic Banking and Finance in Africa”. According to the strategy, AlHuda CIBE will begin different initiatives on 15 African countries from June 2014 to December 2014. In this, AlHuda CIBE will establish Islamic microfinance institutions; will offer Takaful consultancy services, technical and Shariah support, and help giving education and capacity building to the relevant personnel. AlHuda CIBE has also chalked the plan of organizing “African Islamic Banking and Finance Road Show 2014” in 6 African countries i.e. South Africa, Tunisia, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania and Nigeria for the awareness and remove the capacity constraint from the mentioned countries.

He further added that this is quite a wrong conception that Islamic finance is only taking its roots in North African countries e.g. Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria etc, rather its potential exists in all African continent. Islamic banking and finance is growing rapidly in Nigeria, Libya, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco, while Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia have already taken good initiatives in the mentioned field. He said that there is also a rising trend of Islamic banking and finance in Senegal, Mauritania, Uganda, Ghana and Ethiopia. He said, to tap the African Islamic finance market in better way, Alhuda CIBE has been incorporated in South Africa, Uganda and Dubai to provide better and prompt services to their clients according to International standards.

Analyzing Islamic financial industry of Africa, he added that, according to a careful estimate the total volume of Islamic finance in Africa is 78 Billion USD, which is less than 5% share of global Islamic finance industry, out of that Islamic Banking have 81% share, Islamic Fund 7 %, Sukuk 5 %, Takaful 6%, and Islamic microfinance have only 1% share in the African Islamic Finance Industry, while 96+ Islamic banks, 29 Islamic Funds, 31 Islamic Microfinance Institutions and more than 41 Takaful companies are working over there.

He also emphasize that the increasing trend of poverty in Africa can be reduced by utilizing Islamic Microfinance methodology, the multilateral organizations e.g. African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, GIZ, IFAD and world bank can play a pivotal role in this direction to achieve the optimum goal of poverty alleviation and social development #

Arabic Forum