Kenya sees potential of Islamic banking

East African nation seeks to tap into funds from Middle East with sovereign Sharia debt

Foreign Correspondent NAIROBI // Kenya is considering allowing Islamic financial products as the east African country tries to tap into funding from the Middle East. The effort by the Central Bank of Kenya comes two years after the country licensed its first Islamic banks. Gulf African Bank, the first Islamic bank in the country, has found its niche and was looking to capitalise on the call for new financial products.

Islamic or Sharia-compliant banking is a fast-growing segment of the financial sector in Kenya. Its principles include banking without giving or receiving interest payments and investing in Muslim-friendly enterprises. Gulf African Bank, partly owned by the Dubai equity company Istithmar World, and First Community Bank, Kenya's other Islamic lender, control 1 per cent of the banking sector's net assets after less than two years of operation.

"This is a testimony of the vast potential of Islamic finance in Kenya, which should be tapped," said Njuguna Ndugu, the head of the central bank. "Opportunities should be explored in the insurance and capital market segments using Sharia-compliant vehicles." Mr Ndugu spoke this month at the second East and Central Africa Islamic Finance Conference in Nairobi. The central bank is clearing the way for the issue of Sharia-compliant bonds, known as sukuk. It is also exploring Islamic-based co-operative insurance or takaful.

Sukuk, which are structured to avoid payment of interest, have a set maturity. They are backed by an asset that makes it possible for the investor to earn a return from the profits derived from the assets. The central bank is pushing for a law that would allow the Kenyan government to soon issue Islamic bonds. "There is a huge appetite by business people from the Gulf region to invest in Africa," Suleiman Shahbal, the chairman of Gulf African Bank, said at the conference.

Takaful is based on a community-pooling system in which participants contribute to a common fund to help those who need it in times of financial difficulty. It is rooted in the concept of brotherhood and mutual solidarity. The 134 takaful operators worldwide share a US$4.3 billion (Dh15.78bn) market but have made little penetration in Africa. In Kenya, investors from the Gulf have bought into banks and property. Arab governments also have bought farmland in Kenya to grow crops and help ensure food security.

Islamic banking and financing has grown since the global financial crisis. It is seen as an attractive alternative to the risky practices of conventional banking that partly caused the crisis. Last year, global issuance of sukuk grew 40 per cent from the previous year. The total amount of outstanding Sharia-compliant debt is estimated at about $1 trillion, according to the Islamic Financial Services Board. Experts say that the Islamic finance market in Africa could be worth $235bn.

But Islamic banks need to appeal to a wider customer base, not just Muslims, if they want to make inroads in mainly Christian sub-Saharan Africa, industry leaders say. In addition to Kenya, Islamic banking operates on a small scale in a few African countries including Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. Uganda, Malawi and Zambia could be next. "The biggest challenge we face is the perception that this is a bank only for Muslims, which is not correct," Mr Shahbal said. "This is a business and frankly we are indifferent to whether you are Muslim, Christian, Hindu, a non-believer or whatever.

"Some people are extremely hostile and they see a political agenda in Islamic banking. It is not political at all. We have no political agenda." [e-mail]