Jaiz Bank Plc, Nigeria’s pioneer non-interest banking products and services provider, has financed over 10,000 units of houses in the country through partnering with different developers since it commenced operations
The bank’s Executive Director, North, Dr. Sirajo Salisu, gave this hint during the 5th African International Conference on Islamic Finance in Abuja, adding that Islamic finance is touching lives of people in practical ways, contrary to many perceptions.
Speaking at the conference with the theme ’Infrastructure Financing, Sustainability and the Future of African Markets 2.0’, Salisu said the Bank had from inception financed large scale projects worth billions of naira for about 20 customers and has also financed others in areas of agriculture, MSMEs, oil and gas worth billions of Naira.
On youth empowerment, the Executive Director said the bank had provided thousands of opportunities to young people in transportation, telecommunications, and agriculture sectors.
Salisu also spoke on the bank’s financial inclusion drive in the rural areas as part of its efforts to touch the lives of many women and brought them into the financial sector, in addition to facilitating financial interventions by the federal government on empowerment and poverty eradication.
In his contribution at the event, a non-Executive Director of the bank, Dr. Abdullateef Bello, who chaired the ‘The African Islamic Finance Experience; Lessons From Nigeria’ session, highlighted the need for constant engagement and awareness creation on Islamic Finance in order to grow the sector.
He commended the organisers of the event and charged all stakeholders in the non-interest banking space to continue the push as the opportunities in market are yet to be tapped.
In his remarks, the 14th Emir of Kano, His Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said at the opening ceremony that the idea of introducing Islamic Finance in Nigeria by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) when he was the apex bank’s governor under was purely based on the need to have alternative source of funding for the economy.
The seasoned banker noted that the initial negative sentiments on the introduction of Islamic Finance were baseless as many non-Muslim countries in Europe and Asia had been benefiting from various financing options provided by the Islamic Finance to grow their economies.
The Conference aimed at building and enhancing private and public sector institutional capacity on Islamic Finance.
