Islamic Finance East Africas best financial bet

The Islamic Finance industry has registered an unprecedented growth in the recent years with the annual growth rate estimated to be over 20%.

East Africa features a potentially strong demand for Islamic Finance services and products, presenting significant opportunities to deepen and broaden financial inter-mediation.

Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy ever keen to be at the forefront of regional trends in business and finance markets, seeks to promote the country’s potential as a leader in Islamic Finance.

Kenya’s potential and efforts towards promoting Islamic Finance development will be unveiled at East Africa Islamic Finance Summit scheduled for February 17th  in Nairobi’s Villa Rosa Kempinski.

Organized by East Africa Business Network, GBS Africa and Anjarwalla and Khanna, the summit will feature experts in Islamic Finance, regional regulators and policy makers, not forgetting senior executives from key financial sectors.

East Africa member states are exploring alternative sources of finance for infrastructure projects and budget deficit.

In a recent interview, the Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Henry Rotich indicted Kenya’s plans to tap into the international market for borrowing.

“It is important for Kenya and members of the East Africa Community (EAC) to have a diversified debt portfolio,” Agnes Gitau, partner at GBS Africa stated.

She added: “The region remains a very attractive destination for investment, and we must improve our laws to attract investment from the Gulf countries.”

Hosted at the beginning of 2016, the summit will explore economic and political prospects for the region and how they may impact on Islamic Finance development, trade and investment in East Africa.

In April 2015, Kenya Commercial Bank launched its Islamic banking unit that sought to tap into the growing demand for Islamic financial products across the East African region.

The launch paved way for the full roll-out of Sharia’h complaint products under the proposition that was dubbed “KCB Sahl Banking” after KCB got all the necessary regulatory approvals.

The “KCB Sahl Banking” (easy banking) rolled out aims to provide compliant banking products, that prohibit the giving or receiving of interest and ensured that money was invested ethically in accordance with the Islamic faith.