Kenya Plans to Introduce Islamic Finance, Join OIC
When Muslims do business in Kenya - a Christian-majority country - they have not been able so far to apply Islamic Shariah law as most Kenyan institutions are not accustomed to it. But the government is now taking steps to bridge this gap.
Speaking at the International Islamic Finance conference of Africa, the first ever summit of its kind held on African soil, in Nairobi last Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich said that the Kenyan government would adopt legislation that would make Islamic finance possible – previous financial legislation did not permit the use of the alternate forms of banking and insurance which is based oninterest-free banking transactions, Anadolu Agency reported.
"Kenya will be issuing Shariah-compliant sukukin the coming year, and
these will be used to finance infrastructure. Kenya will also join the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries and adjust rules and
regulations in the financial sector to support Shariah-compliant products in
the market,” Rotich said.
The conference is intended to aid developing countries in Africa to tap into
the $2.1 trillion market of Islamic finance, using it as a catalyst of economic
growth. Kenya can learn about the application of Islamic finance by taking
advice from Muslim countries, he added.
Policymakers’ business leaders and government officials spent Monday and
Tuesday speaking on how Islamic financial principles can help combat poverty
and alleviate poverty in Africa.
Developing countries were given a chance to learn from actors in more mature
markets on how to use Islamic microfinance as a tool for promoting economic
growth for low-income workers and business owners.
It is hoped that the development of Islamic Finance in Africa will help woo
investors from Muslim countries to come and invest in developing countries in
the region, conference participants said.
