IslamicFinance.de

Growth in the Muslim population throughout the emerging markets of Middle East and North Africa and Asia (MENA) is a key reason behind increasing demand for Islamic banking services. Especially sub-Saharan Africa offers growth opportunity for Shariah-compliant finance. Ja’iz Bank for example, Nigeria’s first Islamic bank, has witnessed growth in customer base, assets and branch network. The future of non-interest banking in Nigeria is bright. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched Liquidity Management Instruments to assist non-interest banks to be able to manage their liquidity while National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has, in collaboration with Ja’iz, designed an Islamic cooperative kind of insurance called Takaful. Similarly, other institutions and commissions are mulling how to come up with non-interest-based bonds for financing infrastructure.