Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt –June 2022 – Member countries cooperate to advance trade among themselves by signing agreements to support the private sector and foster overseas businesses.
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of IsDB Group and Afriland First Bank, joined hands to support projects and industries in Cameroon.
Mr. Ayman Sejiny, the CEO of, and Mr. FONKOUA Jean Paulin, Chairman of the Board of Afriland First Bank, signed a EUR 40 Million Syndicated Sharia-compliant line of financing agreement (LoF) to support Cameroonian SMEs adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Out of this EUR 40 million LOF, EUR 20 million is being allocated under the ICD’s USD 250 Mn COVID-19 Support Package to help the private sector affected by the pandemic by leveraging on the expertise of the banking system of its member countries. The remaining balance of EUR 20 million has been sourced from the BADEA under a syndication arranged by the ICD.
The syndicated LoF facility will help to expand the Afriland First Bank’s customer base by the provision of Shariah-compliant financing in response to the growing demand for Islamic finance to support COVID-19 affected projects and industries.
On this occasion Mr. Ayman Sejiny, commented: “For ICD, facilitating access to finance for SMEs is a high priority, given its potential to help achieve the twin goals of eliminating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Continuous cooperation between ICD and Afriland First Bank, the only bank with an operational Islamic Window in Cameroon, will result in easier access by SMEs to Shariah-compliant financing that will meet their funding needs, as well as in keeping businesses open and preserving jobs.
We are glad that we are helping the Cameroonian economy to overcome the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen financial inclusion. We have no doubt that this LoF will provide much-needed support to private sector businesses which have been affected by the Pandemic”.
Regarding the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the Federation of Afro-Asian Insurers and Reinsurers (FAIR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster greater cooperation to encourage business collaboration among their members.
Under the MoU, there will be greater cooperation between FAIR and ICIEC on sharing insurance and reinsurance information, regulatory guidelines, emerging insurance needs, market gaps, ICIEC’s added value in risk mitigation, and credit enhancement for the benefits of common countries of coverage/operations. The MoU was signed by Oussama A. Kaissi, CEO of ICIEC, and Mo’men Mukhtar, the Secretary-General of FAIR.
Oussama Kaissi, CEO of ICIEC, said the MoU will help garner a more holistic approach to business collaboration for both parties. He added: “This framework is a landmark agreement because it will promote greater cooperation between members of FAIR and ICIEC, including fostering increased technical assistance, training, and capacity building.”
