Kenya

Kenya: State Urged to Expand Sharia Compliance Loans to Muslims

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt businesses in Kenya, the Muslim community has been urged to take advantage of financial institutions offering low bank charges. Islamic finance expert Khalfan Abdallah has urged the government to rethink how to accommodate Muslims in various financial support programmes such as Youth and Women Fund. Mr Abdallah said the government should borrow a leaf from Momentum Credit Micro Finance which has started offering Sharia compliance loans to Muslims using logbooks as collateral. He urged the Muslim business community who are affected by Covid-19 pandemic to take advantage of Momentum Sahih products.

State urged to expand sharia compliance loans to Muslims

As coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt businesses in Kenya, the Muslim community has been urged to take advantage of financial institutions offering low bank charges to jump-start their businesses. Islamic finance expert Khalfan Abdallah has urged the government to rethink how to accommodate Muslims in various financial support programmes such as Youth and Women Fund. Mr. Abdallah said the government should borrow a leaf from Momentum Credit Micro Finance which has started offering Sharia compliance loans to Muslims using logbooks as collateral. The official said to bail out Muslims during these hard times, such affordable credit facilities which are sharia compliance are required.

#Kenya: Djibouti's East African Bank Distance Self From Kenya Registered Bank

The East Africa Bank based in Djibouti has written to the Central Bank of Kenya raising concerns of a fraud using the bank's name and logo. Curiously, the logo, colours and the information on the website of the East African Savings Bank (EASB) are similar to those of the East Africa Bank based in the capital city of Djibouti. Both East Africa Bank and East Africa Savings Bank are apparently Sharia compliant. The East Africa Bank has already reported to the Central Bank of Kenya as well as the Banking fraud investigations unit for further action. The East Africa Bank believes this is a fraudulent misrepresentation and urges all customers to avoid dealing with the said entity.

Insurance Firm Takaful Launches MyCyberCare Tool to Protect Businesses from Online Fraud

Takaful Insurance of Africa developed a new product, a digital data protection tool that will enable individuals and businesses to secure their online presence. Known as MyCyberCare, the product will cover users on all forms of online fraud and virus attacks. During the presentation, Takaful representatives reiterated the importance of the recently signed Data Protection Bill that details a lot of measures that can be enforced to protect personal data. Takaful, which says it processes cybercrime claims in under 72 hours, will avail the product to interested companies and people. Plan prices will range from KES 50000 to KES 3 million.

Islamic finance contracts estimated to reach $2.5trn

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.

Source: 

https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/08/09/2019/Islamic-finance-contracts-estimated-to-reach-$2.5trn

Use arbitration to solve Islamic finance disputes

With the growing number of the Islamic financial service providers in Kenya, a proportionate increase in Shariah-related commercial and financial disputes is also expected. In Kenya there is no comprehensive legal and regulatory framework that governs the application of Shariah principles. Arbitration as a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism is gaining in popularity owing to the time and cost it takes to resolve disputes. The disputing parties can select the arbiters and the proceedings can be held in private away from the media glare and therefore does not damage reputations and destroy brands. Islamic financial providers need to ensure that arbitration clauses are factored in their contractual documentations to take care of the need to seek sound Shariah determination of commercial disputes.

Gulf African Bank inks IFC advisory deal for SME lending

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is offering technical advisory services to Gulf African Bank to help it lend more to small and women-owned enterprises. The advisory will cost $368,016 (Sh37 million) and is the latest such undertaking with local banks. Other banks that have signed similar deals include Co-op Bank and Equity Bank. IFC says the project will focus on competency assessment, opportunity sizing and product programme development for SME banking. The institution defines SMEs using various measures including firms having between 10 and 300 employees or annual sales of Sh10 million to Sh1.5 billion. The loan size per borrower usually ranges from Sh1 million to Sh200 million.

Financing deals push Gulf earnings to Sh212m

Gulf African Bank's net profit increased to Sh212.42 million from Sh191.60 million in the first half of 2018. It is a 10.86% growth after fees on financing deals quadrupled. Fees and commissions on financing arrangements surged 309.72% to Sh122.89 million from Sh29.99 million. Net profit income rose 7.46% to Sh1.01 billion after the value of the arrangements to customers jumped by a third year-on-year to Sh21.42 billion in June and 7.42% from last December.

Enact legislation tailored to Islamic finance sector, CBK urged

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is asked to enact a sector-specific legislation tailored to Islamic finance sector to monitor and regulate transactions. According to Jacqueline Wangui, Partner at MMC Africa Law, the absence of specific legislation on Islamic finance is in itself a hindrance to the realization of the financial benefits. Wangui proposed that embedding a Shariah council within the structure of the CBK could go a long way. The Sharia council would constitute of local and international Islamic scholars to sit in an advisory capacity with the aim of producing a congruent regulatory framework for Islamic financing. Currently, there is no overall regulator at the level of the CBK appointed to specifically oversee the management of Islamic financing and its products.

Why Islamic finance is yet to realise its full potential in #Kenya

Kenya's Islamic finance industry is over a decade old but is yet to realize its full potential. The uptake of Shariah compliant financial products has been adversely affected by the absence of supportive legal and regulatory infrastructure, lack of skilled Islamic finance professionals, poor perception and lack of awareness. One other challenge is the lack of harmonisation of the Shariah standards. Industry stakeholders need to undertake a comprehensive training of the Shariah scholars and enhance public awareness in Islamic finance. Aqeel Consulting takes the initiative to organise a technical workshop for the Shariah scholars between July 11 -12, 2018 at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club.

Regulations are hindering growth of Islamic finance

The steady growth in Islamic banking in Kenya was unexpected when Islamic finance started in Kenya in the last decade. The Finance Act of 2017 made amendments to the Co-operative Societies Act to facilitate shariah compliant products and enhance financial deepening. It also amended the Public Finance Management Act to recognise Sukuk as one of the national government securities. Despite this growth, there is still much to be done in developing regulations. Kenyan Islamic banks have tried to embed shariah governance within their governance frameworks. However, the mechanism lacks to ensure parity in shariah interpretations, product development and advisory and regulations at an industry level. Islamic capital markets remain hugely untapped in Kenya.

Group roots for deepening of Islamic finance

In #Kenya a lobby group has called for the review of regulations governing Islamic banking and Sharia'h compliant products offered by conventional banks so as to resolve the issue of interest rates. The group, Bayt-ul-Maal has commenced gathering signatures to petition Kenyan Muslims scholars to deliberate and craft a modern day Bayt-ul-Maal (Islamic Treasury) catering for the needs of Muslims. They embarked on a door-to-door campaign sensitizing the Muslim community on the importance of Bayt-ul-Maal. The group claims that since February this year debate has raged concerning the validity of Islamic banking and Sharia'h Compliant windows, as offered by some conventional banks.

Regulators meet to explore ways of expanding Islamic financing

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.

Africa: Will #Fintech Grow Financial Inclusion?

Financial technology investors are calling for policies that promote development to achieve the World Bank target of universal financial access by 2020. Financial experts who attended the Africa Payments Innovation Summit in Nairobi said digital disruption could increase the continent's banked population. The emergence of mobile money services over the past decade has contributed to financial inclusion in Africa. According to the mobile operators association GSMA, there were 277 million registered mobile money accounts in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2016. But despite the progress, at least 85% of transactions in the region are still in cash. There is a mistrust between banks and telcos about whose customer they are serving, who owns the infrastructure, and the loading of additional costs on transactions between the two. Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge warned innovators against getting carried away by technology.

#Kenyan firm tapped to train Islamic Finance #professionals

The Bahrain-based General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) has accredited Kenyan firm Aqeel Consulting to offer its professional development courses in Islamic finance. Aqeel Consulting's Managing Director Jaafar Abdulkadir said this partnership would develop a critical mass of professionals to support the growth of Islamic finance in the region. Aqeel will be conducting professional development courses on behalf of CIBAFI, which will be the certification body. The courses will be customised to suit the local scenario. Abdulkadir added that the collaboration with CIBAFI would reduce reliance on expertise from other countries. The professional development courses will meet global standards, but with local relevance.

Gulf African Bank bucks trend with two branches plan

Gulf African Bank is set to open two new branches in Hurlingham, Nairobi and Mtwapa in Mombasa this year. Although several local lenders have announced outlet closures in recent months, Gulf African Bank is optimistic and set to improve access to financial services. Other local banks announced a freeze on expansion in a bid to protect their bottom lines. There are three fully-fledged Islamic banks in the country: Gulf, First Community and Dubai Islamic Bank, with at least 11 conventional lenders with dedicated counters for such products.

MoU signed to support creation of #Sukuk sector in #Kenya

Nasdaq Dubai and the Nairobi Securities Exchange have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the creation of a Sukuk sector in Kenya. The MoU was signed in Dubai by Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai, and Geoffrey Odundo, CEO of the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Hamed Ali assured that by cooperating and sharing expertise, the two Exchanges will provide powerful support for the growth of Islamic finance in Kenya. Geoffrey Odundo said the development of the Islamic capital markets can provide significant support for funding national development while strengthening international relationships. Other recent steps for the sector include a Sukuk transaction on Nasdaq Dubai’s Murabahah financing platform carried out by the Africa Finance Corporation.

Safaricom and Gulf Bank to launch Sharia-compliant banking service

#Kenyan operator Safaricom and Gulf African Bank are set to launch a Sharia-compliant banking service through M-Pesa to allow customers to open and operate M-Sharia bank accounts. The M-Sharia platform will be rolled out by next March, targeting the bank’s retail and merchant segments. Retail customers will be able to borrow cash through their mobile phones from as little as KES 100 to KES 200,000. Merchants will have a chance to buy stocks by borrowing through that platform from KES 50,000 to KES 500,000. The tenor for the retail service will be thirty days, while that for merchants will be three months.

#Kenya just stands out: Dr Adnan Chilwan, GCEO, Dubai Islamic Bank

Dr. Adnan Chilwan, CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), said that Kenya stood out to the Bank as a stepping stone to expanding its operations into Africa. In May 2017 DIB was granted a banking licence by the Central Bank of Kenya to operate a subsidiary, DIB Kenya. According to Chilwan, Dubai always had the ambition to venture into Far East Asia and East Africa. As DIB had already ventured into Far East Asia, East Africa was the next logical point. From the East African countries Kenya stands out in its regulatory framework and the stability in the country. DIB Kenya is already open and the bank has ambitious plans for East Africa. Chilwan added that Kenya was a country that DIB would be surely focussing on in years to come.

Dubai Islamic Bank plans African #expansion after planting #Kenyan roots

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has plans to solidify its foundations in the East African Islamic banking sector. Chairman Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani confirmed confirmed the information last weeek. DIB was granted permission to enter the market by the Central Bank of Kenya in May 2017. The regulator used the new entry to highlight Kenya’s growing status as a regional finance hub. Until the DIB entry, Kenya had only two full-fledged Islamic institutions: Gulf African Bank and First Community Bank. The country also has one takaful Islamic insurance firm, a Shari’ah-compliant mutual fund and two cooperatives. Kenya's treasury ministry recently unveiled new plans to make mainstream Islamic finance a major part of the country's growth strategy. Finance minister Henry Rotich said in March that the government would propose alterations to financial law and issue new regulations to facilitate Shari’ah finance.

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