Afriland First Bank

#Cameroon bets on Islamic financing to boost financial inclusion and attract Middle Eastern investors

In Cameroon, only one bank (Afriland First Bank) and three microfinance institutions practice Islamic financing. Yet, the appropriation of this type of financing can considerably contribute to the development of financial inclusion in Cameroon. To raise awareness about the topic, the Ministry of Finance and the UNDP organized a forum on the theme "Islamic financing: contribution to Cameroon's economic growth and to the achievement of sustainable development goals". According to Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé, Islamic financing promotes financial inclusion and it can also constitute a complementary lever for economic growth by attracting foreign investment from Middle Eastern countries.

Afriland First Bank and ICD sign agreement to create Islamic window in #IvoryCoast

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Afriland First Bank have signed an agreement in which both parties will cooperate to establish an Islamic Window in Ivory Coast. The cooperation reflects ICD's ambition to promote Islamic Finance in its member countries and support its growing presence and activities in Africa. The agreement was signed by Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi, CEO and Managing Director of ICD and Olivier Dadjeu Kengne, CEO and Managing Director of Afriland First Bank Ivory Coast. Both directors expressed their strong support for the partnership. The partnership with ICD aims to diversify Afriland First Bank's activities and meet the needs its customers, particularly the needs of a large Muslim community, which is actively involved in trades.

Afriland First Bank seeks to raise 3 billion FCFA in 2015 at its Islamic bank

Afriland First Bank, the Cameroonian banking institution, has set high fundraising and loan approval targets for its Islamic finance clientele. Indeed, according to Youssoufa Bouba, the bank’s Director of Specialised Finance, Afriland First Bank is aiming to achieve 3 billion FCFA in Islamic checking accounts. Bouba goes on to state that the bank intends to grant 2 billion FCFA in loans at the same branch. These goals depend not only on the size of the Muslim population in Cameroon (the institution’s target market), which represents 20% of the population there, but also on the products the bank implements with private sector support provided by the Society for International Development (SID).

Cameroon's Afriland First Bank launches Islamic window

Cameroon's Afriland First Bank has launched the Central African state's first Islamic window. Afriland, which has offered an Islamic deposit account since 2000 to help Muslims perform their pilgrimage to Mecca, will offer a range of common types of Islamic financing contracts. These include murabaha, musharaka, mudaraba and ijara. The lender developed the Islamic window with assistance from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). Afriland, founded in 1987, now operates subsidiaries in Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Zambia, South Sudan, and Guinea.

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