Status and Development of Islamic Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By: Enrique Gelbard, Mumtaz Hussain, Rodolfo Maino, Yibin Mu, and Etienne B. Yehoue.

The Islamic finance industry has been growing rapidly in various regions, and its banking segment has become systemic in some countries, with implications for macroeconomic and financial stability. While not yet significant in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), several features make Islamic finance instruments relevant to the region, in particular the ability to foster SMEs and micro-credit activities. In a recent paper, we provide a survey on Islamic Finance in SSA where on-going activities include Islamic banking, sukuk issuances (to finance infrastructure projects), Takaful (insurance), and microfinance. Should they wish to develop the market, policy makers could introduce Islamic financing windows within the conventional system and facilitate sukuk issuance to tap foreign investors. The entrance of full-fledged Islamic banks would require addressing systemic issues and adapting crisis management and resolution frameworks.

The financial sector in SSA has been growing rapidly in the past two decades. New products have been introduced and financial institutions are playing an increasing role in financial intermediation, including cross-border financial intermediation.

However, Islamic finance remains small, although it has potential given the region's demographic structure and potential for further financial deepening. As of end-2012, about 38 Islamic finance institutions-comprising commercial banks, investment banks, and takaful (insurance) operators-were operating in Africa. Out of this, 21 operated in North Africa, Mauritania and Sudan, and 17 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Botswana, Kenya, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritius, Senegal and Tanzania have Islamic banking activities. There is also scope for development in Zambia, Uganda, Malawi, Ghana and Ethiopia, as all but Zambia has relatively large Muslim populations-Zambia is interested in using Islamic finance instruments to fund investment in the mining sector. In Uganda, the central bank has started the process of amending its banking regulations to allow for the establishment of Islamic banks and three Islamic banks have applied for a license.

Islamic finance is still at a nascent stage of development in SSA. The share of Islamic banks is small, and Islamic capital markets are virtually non-existent (there were small Sukuk issuances in Gambia and Nigeria). At the same time, the demand for Islamic finance products is likely to increase in coming years. At present, about half of the region's total population remains to be banked. Furthermore, the SSA Muslim population, currently at nearly 250 million people, is projected to reach 386 million in 2030 and financial activities are expected to rise as a share of GDP. Many countries are expected to introduce Islamic finance activities side-by-side conventional banking. Opportunities for the development of Islamic finance are expected to comprise retail products to small and medium-sized enterprises. The sub-continent's growing middle class, combined with its young population is an opportunity for Islamic finance to expand its services. SSA's large infrastructure needs will also provide an opportunity for Sukuk issuance to channel funds from the Middle-East, Malaysia, and Indonesia. For example, recent issuance of a Shari'ah-compliant bond by Osun state in Nigeria and South Africa could start a trend in favour of sukuk, especially if planned sukuk by Senegal.

Developing Islamic Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa

The development of Islamic Finance could increase the depth and breadth of intermediation, extending the reach of the system (e.g. extension of maturities and facilitation of hedging and risk diversification). At the same time, the much larger non-Muslim population could find Islamic financial instruments attractive in broadening the range of available options, particularly for SMEs and micro-credit. Moreover, financial deepening and inclusion could be further enhanced if new instruments are inspired from Islamic finance, but without necessarily being Shari'ah certified. The development of partial risk guarantees, as in Mauritius, could be seen as an example.

In addition, SSA countries could tap into growing Islamic financial markets to meet infrastructure financing needs. By opening doors to Islamic finance, SSA can seek to attract capital from Muslim countries whose savings rates are high and projected to grow. In particular, sukuk financing, which is expanding in other countries, could be a useful tool to finance infrastructure investments.

Lastly, Islamic financing can help develop small and medium enterprises and microfinance activities, given those African households and firms have less access to credit from conventional banks compared to other developing regions. Islamic banks can tap a segment of depositors that do not participate in interest-based banking. They can also promote SMEs' access to credit through expanding acceptable collaterals by extending funds on a participatory basis in which collateral is either not necessary or includes intangible assets.

Through its different forms-windows, full-fledged banking, investment banking, and Insurance-Islamic finance activities ensure appropriate leverage and help limit speculation and moral hazard. It should be noted, however, that they are also subject to constraints and risks, most notably the difficulties and costs involved in supervising and monitoring and the reputational risk implicit in some products that are not properly certified as compliant with Islamic principles.

For countries that want to develop Islamic finance in their jurisdictions, a strategy could contemplate the following steps: launching a public awareness campaign, providing the needed infrastructure (i.e. amending as needed laws and accounting and prudential frameworks), building capacity at the central bank (especially on supervision), and considering the need to set up an appropriate liquidity management framework and introduce adequate monetary operations instruments.

This blogpost is based on the academic study "Islamic Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Status and Prospects", prepared by Enrique Gelbard, Mumtaz Hussain, Rodolfo Maino, Yibin Mu and Etienne B. Yehoue.