With its Sukuk aspirations finally realized in 2017 and its only Islamic bank receiving an international operating license, Nigeria has a lot to offer to the global Islamic finance industry. The African nation has been steadily giving stiff competition to its neighbors like South Africa, Uganda and Djibouti on the Shariah front and with its debut sovereign Sukuk, Nigeria sealed its place at the top of the regional Islamic finance league. On the 18th June 2019, join IFN as it convenes industry experts and decision-makers at its inaugural IFN Nigeria Forum to discuss on the challenges and opportunities in the Nigerian Islamic finance market.
Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from SE Asia and is now home to almost one-third of the world’s Muslim population. Although interest in Islamic finance continues to spread across this diverse yet complex continent, it has remained a difficult market to penetrate. With this in mind, IFN will organize the inaugural IFN African Roadshow taking in three of the most likely markets to see Shariah compliant financing flourish in the coming years.
Hailed as the new frontier for Islamic finance, Africa – where a quarter of the world’s Muslim population call home – is a land fertile with opportunities. In recent years, the continent has seen promising developments in the Islamic finance space: country and regional authorities are pushing for new regulations to facilitate Shariah compliant transactions; new financial institutions offering Islamic products are emerging; foreign banks are establishing an African presence primarily to tap the Muslim population; and more African sovereigns are making their mark in the Sukuk space. It is truly an exciting time for Islamic finance in Africa! On the back of this vibrant landscape, IFN is delighted to return to Nairobi with IFN Kenya Forum 2019; this time in Kenya, one of the fastest-growing Islamic finance markets in the region. Recognized as one of the leading Islamic finance event brands in the region, IFN Kenya Forum will gather leading market practitioners and regulators from across Africa to discuss and debate the most pressing issues of the industry.
Among the African countries that are increasingly permeating the global Islamic finance industry, South Africa is a prominent game-changer. Its conventional legislation has been tailored to better facilitate Shariah compliant financial transactions, and since 2010, various legislation have seen daylight to better accommodate the industry. On the Sukuk front, the country led its regional peers by issuing its debut Sukuk worth US$500 million dollar in 2014, with another expected to follow suit in this fiscal year.
