By Our Reporter
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (a member of, the Islamic Development Bank Group) and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, will hold a landmark forum in September. The event dubbed the Africa Islamic Finance Forum will be held in Abidjan on the 17th and 18th of September. It aims at stimulating development of the local and international market of Islamic finance in Africa.
It will also explore cross border trades between international investors and African nations through opportunities made available by Islamic finance.
In the last few years, Islamic finance has been making headways across the world with more countries accepting this system in their markets. With this increased pace of internationalization of this concept, the total global financial assets of the Islamic financial industry is now estimated to be more than US$2 trillion. Africa is one of the last great horizons for Islamic finance.
Although the potential contribution of Islamic finance to African economic development has long been recognized by experts; several challenges have hitherto inhibited its full flowering.
In recent years however, the pace has picked up: with supranational development agencies supporting nations across the breadth of Africa to develop their legislative and regulatory frameworks, encourage the advent of Islamic institutions and innovations, and enable the issuance of Sukuk to stimulate their public sector spending.
As the third-fastest growing region in the world, outside interest is also gaining momentum. The continent has become an attractive destination for Shariah compliant FDI and trade between Africa and OIC countries across the rest of the world.
This exclusive, invitation-only event is designed specifically for the benefit of local and international market players to explore the development opportunities in Islamic finance both in the Cote d’Ivoire, locally and regionally – concentrating on building the market and exploring its exceptional potential through inward investment and international collaboration.
The distinguished audience will include regulators, bankers, lawyers, consultants, scholars and a comprehensive array of expert practitioners from around the world with a stake in the evolution of the African Islamic finance industry.
The comprehensive forum will cover the outlook for Islamic finance and Shariah compliant fund raising and public private partnerships in Africa. It will also review the success of global Sukuk deals, focus on how Islamic finance can advance Africa’s SME sector and discuss the Islamic asset management trends both globally and in key African markets.
