4TH ISLAMIC FINANCE CONFERENCE HELD IN LAGOS
By Oki Samson
For the first time in Nigeria, the African International Conference on Islamic Finance held in Lagos last week. The 4th edition with the Theme ‘Infrastructure Financing, Sustainability and the Future of African Markets’ had speakers drawn from the banking sector and the Academia in attendance.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Ummahani Ahmad Amin said that the forum was created to Increase awareness about Islamic financing as a way to enhance financial inclusion. The model will also help in eradicating poverty and finance infrastructure.
Hassan Usman, the Managing Director of Jaiz Bank, about the impact of the conference said: ‘It is looking at how we can use Islamic finance to facilitate financial inclusion which is a topical issue in the economy. It will help some people who abstain from financial system because of their moral inclination because there are some prohibition in Islamic jurisprudence. Some people are also excluded because per capita income in some areas is extremely low which will not make them accesa financial services. There is also deficit in terms of branches and channels’
‘As bankers, we need to change the scenario where banks will be seeking deposit as a basis for getting financial inclusion towards a situation where banks support people who are poor with equity or capital so they can become included. Non-interest products is our way. What we do now is to give equity in which we share in the profit that you make’, he added.
On how Islamic finance can help infrastructure development, Mr. Usman said: ‘ The deficit of infrastructure is huge. Islamic finance is a more disciplined way of financing infrastructure for government, especially in a developing economy where the level of transparency need to be enhanced.’
