First International Islamic Finance Conference in Nairobi

The first International Islamic Finance Conference in Africa (IIFCA), has kicked off today in Nairobi Kenya, which is widely known to be the financial hub of East Africa. The Islamic Finance Conference has brought together more than 250 participants from all over Africa and the world.

Can Islamic Finance be the catalyst for Economic growth and development for African Countries?  This being the theme for the conference, Regional leaders, industry players, business leaders, and opinion shapers will engage in seeking alternative sources for resource mobilization that will help in national and Regional growth, poverty alleviation and financial inclusion.

The conference is also meant to come up with strategies that will see promotion of business and trade between Africa and Muslim Countries. Africa has always been established as a continent with great economic potential due to its abundance natural resources, and it’s also home to the world’s fastest growing middle class opportunities that if well exploited, will lead to the continent rising to its full potential.

Other areas that will be tackled during the conference include ways of developing Robust capital markets to support economic growth in Africa, lessons for emerging markets in Africa from multilateral organizations such as the Islamic Development Bank, standardization of shariah principle that would lead to the harmonization of the capital markets in Kenya and other African countries.

Stakeholders present at the conference will also have a look at the macro considerations that might impact the development of Capital Markets Authority for African countries.

Almost 241 million Muslims are found in Sub- Saharan Africa only, out of which about 52 per cent are young. Moreover, Africa makes up more than half of the 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Countries, a multilateral organization that works towards building the economic and social ties in these countries.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich officially opened the Conference and stated that he government is more than ready to work with the Islamic Finance Industry for the benefit of the country and Africa as a whole. He added that they are working toward making Kenya be a full member of the Islamic Development Bank.

The two-days event will be filled with informative engaging sessions with experts from the business and financial field, business leaders and policy makers around Africa and the rest of the world. They will help create a great networking opportunity for all those who will be participating.

This event has been organized by Awal Consulting Limited, which is the first Islamic Financial Advisory firm in East and Central Africa based in Nairobi, the Islamic Research and Training Institute together with other international Partners.

Article by Vera Shawiza.