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Leaders of the World Bank, United Nations, and Islamic Development Bank Group pledged to work closely together in the region. They recently launched the new financing initiative to support the MENA region aimed at uniting the international community to face the region’s immense challenges, including flow of refugees, and to launch of the process of growth, recovery and reconstruction. This approach aims at completing the massive humanitarian effort through strengthening the capacities of individuals and local communities. The plan needs forming broad alliances as the objectives of the new strategy and the resources necessary to achieve them exceeds the capacity of any single organization.

Global Islamic finance assets had an estimated value of $1.8 trillion in 2014 and are expected to almost double by 2020 to reach $3.2 trillion, according to the ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator.

The projections come ahead of the 2015 World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2015), which will be hosted by Thomson Reuters, the world's leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, and The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), an affiliate of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), in collaboration with Anfaal Capital agreed to establish a Saudi Arabia-focused venture capital fund.
The joint initiative aims to promote and foster the development of the domestic venture capital market in Saudi Arabia. The initiative leverages KAUST’s expertise in new technologies, as well as the ICD SME Program’s experience in the development and management of investment vehicles.
The Fund will provide venture capital (VC) funding for high-tech start-ups located in Saudi Arabia and lead early-stage financing rounds attracting local investors and international venture capitalists. Furthermore, it will invest in sectors that are strategic for the region and nurture entrepreneurship and technological innovation, stimulating the creation of high-value jobs.
The Fund will search for unique and innovative venture capital opportunities and provide the “smart and hands-on capital” needed to start and then sustain these companies.

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), in collaboration with Anfaal Capital agreed to establish a Saudi Arabia-focused venture capital fund.
The joint initiative aims to promote and foster the development of the domestic venture capital market in Saudi Arabia. The initiative leverages KAUST's expertise in new technologies, as well as the ICD SME Program's experience in the development and management of investment vehicles.

The Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank Group and the African Development Bank are to jointly organize a workshop on the development of Islamic Banking in Africa to be held in Nigeria on January 6 - 8 2015. It is organized with the Al-Hikmah University as well as the Department of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin. The workshop will expect Experts in Islamic banking, regulation, and financial economics and take stock of current academic research, policies, practice and development of Islamic banking in Africa as well as current issues in Islamic banking and financial products, academics, regulators and practitioners of Islamic banking and finance from different African countries and from those who show considerable familiarity with the development of Islamic banking in Africa.

ABOUT YPP:

The Young Professionals Program (YPP) is the strategic talent pipeline for the professional career in the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. The Program is designed for outstanding young graduates who can significantly help the IDB Group to carry out its mission and attain its objectives.

This Program enables each Young Professional (YP) to receive extensive exposure and experience of the IDB Group’s various activities through job rotations in different departments. Participants will initially spend two weeks Orientation stage in HRMD. Then, 27 months in Foundation stage which will be split into three rotations of 9 months each in IDB Group departments.

Participants will also benefit from a coaching/mentoring arrangement and a wide range of relevant training and developmental opportunities.

Upon successful program completion, the participant will gradually climb up the professional grades in the IDB Group

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Islamic Development Bank (IDB) president Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani suggested four key areas for the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) to focus on durich his keynote address at the 10th IFSB Summit in Kuala Lumpur. These include the creation of a conducive enabling environmen, adoption of IFSB and AAOIFI standards by all stakeholders, shortage of qualified manpower and financial inclusion through Islamic microfinance, supported by Zakat and Awqaf. In this context, IDB hopes for more collaborative opportunities with IFSB. Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdulla Saoud Al-Thani, chairman of IFSB 2013, highlighted some of the challenges that lie ahead in the Islamic financial service industry like the under-penetrated Takaful industry.

The President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali has stressed that the IDB would cooperate with the Government of Somalia in a bid to rebuild and consolidate the public finance institutions through various methods such as staff training and transfer of knowledge and technology from IDB member countries. He also said that the IDB would assist the Government in the fields of Islamic banking and finance and improve legislation on investment so that the private sector can play its role in economic and social development. IDB's future activities in Somalia would be geared toward building government institutions, restoring basic services and improving infrastructure he added.

Earlier this week, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) was host to a meeting on a high level discussing the launch of a new national home finance company with committed shareholders. The brand name of the company will be Bidaya. In particular, the status of the new company's development and plans concerning the next steps towards the launch were discussed. According to Khaled Al-Aboodi - CEO of ICD - the Mortgage Law together with the recent release of draft regulations give the industry clarity and direction which was very necessary.

The Islamic Development Bank has closed an service agreement with Misys that shall enhance the capacity and efficiency of the Treasury and Investment functions within the bank as well as improve the quality of serving clients. The Misys will provide the IDB Group with a single platfrom solution that shall automate IDB's internal processes and manage treasury and investment operations more efficiently.

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, visited the Islamic Development Bank Group where he denoted pleasure over his first ever visit to the Islamic Development Bank Group. Moreover, he underlined the active and close cooperation between the Bank and the United Nations Organization.
A detailed overview of the IDB Group’s activities and its role in supporting economic and social development in its Member Countries as well as Muslim communities worldwide was displayed to him.

A SR1 billion SME Fund is programmed to promote the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, or SMEs.
Khaled M. Al Aboodi, CEO, and general manager of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, or ICD, private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group stated that the fund should be Shariah-compliant and could take the form of a declining ‘musharaka’, which could address the issues.

The Islamic Development Bank Group has pledged financial support worth $3 billion for socio-economic development in Pakistan.
A high level technical mission led by Mr. Gurbuz Gonul from the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank group visited Pakistan during the period 13-22 March 2011 to embark on developing Member Country Partnership strategy (MCPS) that will lay out the partnership and cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Development Bank Group over the next four years (2012-2015).

A Memorandum of Intents (MOI) on cooperation in designing funding, developing and operating industrial zones projects was recently signed by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Yemen, and the Union of Chambers of Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).
The MOI aims to launch and facilitate cooperation and coordination among the three parties in the formulation, development, promotion and implementation of industrial zones in Yemen as a model of special economic zones based on partnership between the public and private sectors through the use of the Turkish experience in organized industrial zones as well as the international best practices and experiences.