ICD gets active in Africa to widen Islamic finance appeal
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is planning to increase its activities in Africa to widen the appeal of Islamic finance across the region. ICD chief executive Khaled Al-Aboodi said the ICD was helping develop Islamic finance channels, that is Islamic banks, investment and ijara companies, takaful and retakaful firms. Africa represents around 12% of the ICD’s cumulative investment approvals and this figure is expected to rise in coming years. Some of the projects will be led by Senegal-based Tamweel Africa, jointly owned by the ICD and Turkey’s Bank Asya. Tamweel already holds stakes in Islamic banks in Senegal, Niger, Guinea and Mauritania. Further Islamic banks will be established in Benin, Mali and Chad. In Tunisia, the ICD has teamed up with the newly created sovereign wealth fund, Caisse de Dépôts de Tunisie, to set up a $30 million (R315m) fund to support businesses. The ICD also hoped to improve access to sharia-compliant financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Muslim countries, Al-Aboodi said.
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