Standard Chartered Saadiq enters Africa

Standard Chartered Saadiq has successfully inaugurated its Islamic banking offering in Kenya. Following the launch, Kenya becomes the first market for Standard Chartered’s African footprint for Islamic banking. The new window will offer Shariah compliant products that include personal banking, home financing, as well as business and corporate banking.
There are currently two fully-fledged Kenyan banks that provide Islamic products: First Community Bank and Gulf African Bank. Conventional commercial banks that operate Shariah compliant windows are: National Bank of Kenya and Barclays Bank of Kenya.
According to industry reports, the Islamic banking industry in Kenya has grown to account for 2% of the country’s total banking business in under only five years. Expressing his confidence in the potential of the African market, Afaq Khan, CEO of Standard Chartered Saadiq, said: “As a major international bank with a long-standing heritage and a global network, Standard Chartered is ideally placed to play a prominent role in this ever-expanding market. If the Islamic market starts growing in Africa at the level it is growing globally today, it will become a significant part of the financial system in this region as well,” he added.
Sharing the same sentiments, Wasim Saifi, the global head of Islamic banking at the bank, highlighted that with a 10% Muslim population, Islamic banking in the country could pose double-digit growth within the next five years. “This will provide a platform for us to enter in other African markets that include Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria in two to three years,” said Wasim.
Lamin Manjang, CEO of Standard Chartered’s Kenya operation, explained that the offering comes in response to the increased demand from the bank’s customers. “It is no secret that Islamic banking is growing rapidly in Kenya even though Kenya’s first Islamic banking licenses were granted just five years ago. We are seeing more commercial banks open their doors to Islamic banking products in a bid to satisfy a growing demand in the market,” he said.