Jaiz Bank Chairman Advocates Sharia-compliant Instruments For MSMEs

Jaiz Bank Chairman Advocates Sharia-compliant Instruments For MSMEs

— Jul 17, 2014 2:09 am | 2 Comments

The chairman of the Board of Directors of Jaiz Bank Plc, Umaru Mutallab, has charged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other regulatory authorities in the banking sector to urgently consider developing Sharia-compliant liquidity management instruments for non-interest Islamic banks to invest in, adding that the process needed to be expedited to create a level playing field for all the participants in the financial service sub-sector including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that so badly needed non-interest loans for their businesses.

Mutallab, who noted that people of all faith were beginning to understand and embrace non-interest Islamic banking and finance as the earlier controversy that trailed its introduction by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had been cleared, was speaking at the Maidah Foundation Stakeholders’ Forum on Non-Interest Financing for an All-inclusive MSME Support which held yesterday in Abuja.

While stressing   the need to explore more opportunities to enable the system grow, Mutallab emphasised that In many parts of world, Islamic banking has evolved from being just a niche offering, into being part of the mainstream financial service landscape and therefore commended the organizer of the event for bringing together all Nigerians to share in the understanding of the fundamental principles, operations and potentials of Islamic Banking and Finance in engendering socio-economic development of the country.

Meanwhile a communiqué issued at the end of the stakeholders’ forum organised by Maidah Foundation, a network of Nigerian Muslim women entrepreneurs and signed by its president, Dr Shakirat Animashaun Oriyomi, said: “Maidah’s belief is that non-interest finance is capable of bringing millions of unbanked Nigerians to the formal sector within a short period and provide an all-inclusive financial support to entrepreneurs, especially the women,” adding that the objective of the foundation was to contribute towards the economic development of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria and beyond through strong partnership with strong institutions and brands such as the Jaiz Bank, Sterling Bank and other well-meaning individuals like Alh Umaru Mutallab, Alh Umaru Kwairanga and Alh Ahmed Tunde Popoola.

The communiqué therefore prayed the federal government to strengthen the role of Islamic organisations in the creation of funds for the Nigerian entrepreneurs; create a robust platform to educate Nigerians on the benefits of non-interest bearing financial packages especially the use of social media, word of mouth and relevant television programmes; encourage a   broader participation of the relevant institutions in the promotion of non-interest banking in Nigeria and beyond and the provision of resources, relevant certification and research materials for capacity building for stakeholders and professionals.