ISLAMIC FINANACE & BANKING

The IIEF Islamic Finance Unit tries to enable African sovereigns to broaden their investor base, providing some diversification away from traditional Eurobond investors that will encourage more local market participants.

It is anticipated that other issuers such as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), local or regional government authorities and banks will benefit from this additional source of funding which could help Africa to meet its large infrastructure deficit.

These developments are generally encouraging from a macro-economic perspective and will help to address the most prevalent development issues in the continent through:

• the need to increase financial inclusion among the domestic population,
• the use of Sukuk to bridge the funding gap required for needed infrastructure, and
• the initialization of green and brown field projects.