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The Africa Fintech Network will take part in "The African Islamic FinTech Summit (SAIFI)" as a Community Partner. The event takes place at the Radisson Blu Plaza, Dakar (Senegal) on the 29th & 30th of November. The summit will host the POC and the launching of innovative FinTech Solutions and will include Keynote Sessions and Regulatory discussions between Government Agencies, Financial Institutions and Startups. In addition, a certified training session on "Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)" will be organised and facilitated by international experts from West African Financial institutions.

The World Green Economy Summit (WGES) 2019 was held in Dubai and saw the attendance of over 3,000 delegates. The plenary session of the summit explored lucrative opportunities presented by green finance and how businesses can tap into this promising market. Hasan Al-Jabri, CEO of SEDCO Holding Group, highlighted the company’s Prudent Ethical Investing (PEI) strategy and stressed the significance of ethical and socially conscious investing. SEDCO Holding’s PEI-based portfolios combine the principles of responsible and Shariah-compliant finance, bringing together the many benefits of both approaches. The portfolios ensure long-term risk-adjusted returns to support the performance of businesses and promote greater sustainability.

Kuwait: Group Chief Executive Officer at Kuwait Finance House(KFH), Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh said that the banking and financial industry is undergoing a process of digital transformation where many processes – often transactional – are being fully automated.

The Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA) has participated in the 7th East Africa International Arbitration Conference (EAIAC) held on 29 - 30 August 2019 in Nairobi. As QICCA’s Board Member, Sheikh Thani bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani attended the event and delivered a research paper on Islamic finance. During the sessions of the conference, Sheikh Thani informed attendees on the expertise of Qatar in Islamic finance as well as Malaysia’s experiment, in addition to experiments of non-Islamic countries such as Singapore. The conference which was held under the theme "Government Contracting and Investment Disputes: Lessons for States and Investors" saw a participation of more than 250 attendees from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Ghana. QICCA General Counsel Minas Khatchadourian said that the world’s Sovereign Wealth Investments will reach $15trillion by 2020, which represents 25% of the total value of assets that are managed over the world.

The College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) has announced a Call for Papers for its International Conference on Islamic Finance and Circular Economy. The conference is jointly organised with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and will take place from December 3-5 in Doha. During the three-day conference, attendees will examine the emergence of a circular economic paradigm in recent years, exploring the means, processes and incentives to learn from nature and to minimise waste. Scholars are invited to submit their papers on topics such as: Circular Economy: An Islamic Perspective; Circular Economy: Concepts, Models - Challenges and Opportunities; Circular Economy and Islamic Finance; Circular Economy: Urban Innovative Actions and Design; and Transition to Circular Economy: Case Studies. Both Arabic and English manuscripts will be accepted.

Experts from the private and public sectors are meeting today in Lagos to discuss the progress of Islamic finance in Nigeria. The inaugural edition of the IFN Nigeria Forum "Harnessing the Islamic Finance Sector for Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth" takes place on June 18th. The IFN Nigeria Forum 2019 features a mix of panel sessions, onstage interviews and interactive sessions on a number of themes in Islamic finance, including Corporate Financing and Capital Raising in Nigeria. Speakers include Director-General, Debt Management Office of Nigeria, Ms Patience Oniha; Acting Director-General, National Pension Commission, Hajia Aisha Dahir-Umar; Divisional Head, Trading Business, NSE, Mr Jude Chiemeka; Managing Director, Lotus Capital, Hajara Adeola; Partner, Udo Udoma & Belo Osagie, Adeola Sunmola, and Head, Debt Capital Markets, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Oluseun Olatidoye.

The International Fuat Sezgin Islamic Science History Symposium will be organized in Instanbul from June 13 to June 15 with the theme of "Fuat Sezgin's Scientific Heritage." Various Islamic science history experts from all over the world will discuss both their works and the contributions of Fuat Sezgin to the world of science. Sezgin was one of the most respected historians of Islamic science and the recipient of the Presidential Culture and Art Grand Prize before his death last year at the age of 94. Studying Islamic sciences and Arabic at Istanbul University, Sezgin was expelled from the university after the 1960 military coup and worked in Germany as a visiting professor at the University of Frankfurt. In 1982, Sezgin founded the Institute for the Arabic-Islamic Sciences and established a museum showcasing over 800 copies of scientific tools. A similar museum named the Museum for the History of Science and Technology in Islam was opened in Istanbul in 2008 in Gülhane Park.

Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has agreed to deliver a keynote address, via teleconferencing, at the three-day Sarajevo Halal Fair. Bosna Bank International's CEO Amer Bukvic announced that the fair would begin on the 27. of September and he invited more Malaysian companies to set up business in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bukvic added that the country aims to become Europe’s halal hub and they need help from Malaysia. The Sarajevo Halal Fair is jointly organised by Bosna Bank International, Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank Group Business Forum and supported by Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Corporation.

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), the Ministry for Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have come together for the first trade finance workshop titled "Trade Finance as a Key Factor in Trade Promotion". ITFC's chief operating officer Nazeem Noordali said that ITFC and the government of Uzbekistan signed a $100 million framework agreement to finance pre-export and import activities in the country. He added that ITFC was working closely with its partners to promote Islamic trade finance among the Uzbek banks and non-banking financial institutions.

The National Treasury of #Kenya and the International Financial Services Board organized a three-day forum on Islamic finance. The country's five financial regulators met to explore ways of expanding Islamic finance and discuss the challenges they are facing. Challenges include low levels of awareness among the public as well as inadequate manpower to disseminate information.

The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) held its two-day Global Forum in Istanbul. The forum’s main theme was "The New Face of Financial Services: Disruptions, Opportunities and the New Normals". Secretary-general Abdelilah Belatik said that CIBAFI would stay relevant in the industry as the world changes. CIBAFI's mandate is to represent the Islamic financial services industry globally, defend and promote its role, and to also consolidate cooperation among its members. Mehmet Ali Akben, chairman of the Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), said that while globalization had made countries come closer together, it also brought along risks. He added that countries need international cooperation and CIBAFI is one of the best examples of having cooperation and partnership between the countries.

The Responsible Finance & Investment Summit 2018 concluded with a report about Islamic financial institutions’ perceptions and actions on their environmental and social impacts. The report includes a detailed survey of over 30 Islamic financial institutions’ sustainable finance practices. During the RFI Summit 2018, participants heard a call to action on impact finance from speakers like HRH Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano, Dr. Henri B. Meier, Dr. Iyad Abu Moghli and others. The winners of the Support Disruption for Good Challenge presented their companies. The three winners, AID:Tech, INBONIS and thirdACT, demonstrated how companies can use technology to enable greater investment and financing to flow to support healthcare, agriculture and sustainable cities.

The UN Environment Programme is organizing a pre-Summit roundtable on "Faith-Consistent Financing Prospects to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)". The roundtable will explore opportunities for faith-based financial institutions and asset owners to promote common efforts that can increase their collective impact. Iyad Abumoghli, Principal Advisor at UN Environment said the UN was excited to partner with the RFI Summit, which has developed into a leading platform for encouraging dialogue between faith-based institutions and the financial sector.

For more information about the RFI Summit 2018 and to register, please visit www.rfisummit.org.

Click here to apply http://bit.ly/2tN5RAZ

Purpose of this call is to invite private and public sector to share their good practices on
•Islamic finance funded impact investments and dedicated vehicles
•impact investment vehicles in the OIC region
•Islamic social finance vehicles

for the mapping study that is being carried out under the Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform (GIFIIP). The selected cases will be analysed by the research team managed by IICPSD and IRTI. Subsequently the good practices, information on vehicles and further findings will be published as part of the study.

Investment Focus

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) are organizing a conference on Islamic Finance on the 2nd of May 2018. The conference will be held in the State of Kuwait in conjunction with the IFSB Annual Meetings 2018, hosted by the CBK. The CBK-IFSB Islamic finance conference is expected to attract senior-level participation from among the global and financial industry stakeholders and thought leaders. Discussions will revolve around the role Islamic finance can play in government strategies to build a diversified and sustainable economy. The IFSB Annual Meetings 2018 will be held in Kuwait from 1–3 May 2018. Alongside the conference, CBK is also hosting the IFSB Public Lecture, Members and Industry Engagement Session, the IFSB’s General Assembly and Council Meetings during the 3 days.

The organizers of the Responsible Finance & Investment Summit have announced the judging panel for the "Support Disruption for Good" Challenge. The judging panel will select one winner in each category, against transparent criteria of each entrant’s relevance to the Priority Sectors (agri/food, healthcare, sustainable cities and education).

The judges, who serve in their personal capacity, are:
• Dr. Mohammed Kroessin, Head of Islamic Microfinance, IRW
• Rachel Zedeck, Director, Climate Smart Agri & Impact Investment Strategies at Peterson and Control Union
• AlDana Banihashem, General Manager, Al Naser Engineering
• Conrad Young, MBA, Managing Director, Food Forward Ltd
• Dr. Farid Khan, Executive Chairman, Simply Capital Partners
• Dr. Natalie Schoon, Principal Consultant, Formabb Ltd
• Julian Osborne, Head of Operations, Swiss Finance + Technology Association
• Boris Battistini, Partner, Metellus AG

According to experts, the adoption of Islamic fintech will soon see a global increase as nations focus on financial inclusion across emerging economies. At the 11th edition of Innovation Arabia, Mohamed Roushdy, founder of Fintech Bazaar, revealed that traditional fintech has been existing for long as a service provider supporting financial services, but not customers. When it comes to fintech adoption today, adoption is highest in Asia in emerging economies. China leads the way with 69% adoption, followed by India at 52%. In terms of financial inclusion, Roushdy said the situation looks rather bleak across many Muslim nations. According to the Global Findex Database, 71% of Muslims have no bank account. Professor Nabil Baydoun, vice-chancellor at Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU), said the importance of the Islamic economy is seen as a vital resource and a contributing factor in the transition to the post-oil economy. The 11th edition of the event is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

Leading Islamic finance experts gathered at the London Stock Exchange for the Sukuk Summit organized by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). IDB President Dr Bandar Hajjar highlighted the need for London to be at the heart of the "Islamic finance revolution" and for it to leverage its global marketplace. He highlighted the continued global growth of the Islamic finance market, in particular the growth within the UK. He also cited the financial inclusion and shared prosperity model which is at the heart of Islamic finance transactions. The London Stock Exchange is home to a number of sukuk listings, with 65 sukuk having been listed on the London Stock Exchange valued at $48 billion. John Glenn MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said the UK had supported market-driven innovations in the field of Islamic FinTech and the government was determined to ensure continuation.

The organizers of the Responsible Finance & Investment (RFI) Summit 2018 have announced the opening keynote speaker for the Summit, His Royal Highness Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano. His Royal Highness will share his experience in advocating for sustainable economic development and the creation of a more equitable financial system.

Emir Sanusi began his career as a banker until he was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2009 and then Emir of Kano in 2014. He won an international reputation as a reformer following the bail-out of nine lenders soon after becoming Governor of the Central Bank.

Blake Goud, CEO of the RFI Foundation, and the RFI Summit organizers feel honored to have HRH Emir Sanusi delivering an opening keynote address.

The RFI Summit will take place on 26 and 27 April 2018 at the Atlantis Hotel by Giardino in Zurich, Switzerland. The summit is an initiative of the RFI Foundation and Swiss Arab Network to build awareness of shared values that can bring socially responsible investing (SRI), environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Islamic finance together to increase their positive impact.

Media Contacts

London, United Kingdom | September 10-12, 2018 -

@Note: Looking forward meeting you in person! Partners, sponsors and delegates with question may contact me personally - gassner@islamicfinance.de

Topic: Building Resilient Ecosystems: Philanthropy's Response to Inequality and Societal Tension