Recent IFC and other studies have shown that approximately 30% of small businesses remain excluded from the formal banking sector because of a lack of Shariah-compliant products. It is estimated that in just one region MENA alone there is an estimated gap of US$8.6 billion to 13.2 billion for Islamic SME financing within the un-served and under-served segments. Additionally, there is an estimated deposit potential of between $9.7 to $15 billion across several Middle east and North African countries. This potential represents a "new to bank" opportunity.

In order to reach out to SMEs demanding Islamic products, and as part of IFC's goal on financial inclusion and promotion of small businesses, we are working with Islamic banks to build both institutional capacity and to develop new shariah-compliant financing products targeting the SME sector.

IFC's engagements with Islamic Banks focus on:
• Strategy and Segmentation
• Products and Services
• Sales and delivery channels
• Organization and systems
• Risk management and Underwriting process
• Non-Financial Services Offerings.

Join IFC's Khaleel Ahmed, Kaiser Naseem and Bilal al-Sugheyer together with IFAAS' Mohammad Farrukh Raza and Gulf African Bank's Najma Jabri for a discussion. Learn how IFC is working with Islamic banks to meet the business needs of small businesses.

About the speakers

Khaleel Ahmed is Chief Investment Officer in IFC's Global Financial Institutions Group. He initiated IFC's engagement in Islamic financing and leads the Islamic finance investments in IFC's Global Financial Institutions Group. He has been with IFC since 1990 and has extensive experience of investing equity in and providing long term structured financing to private sector entities in emerging and frontier markets. 

Kaiser Naseem currently leads IFC's Islamic Banking and Digital Finance Advisory Services work in MENA, Pakistan, Central Asia and Russia. He has over 36 years of international experience in development banking and finance, and his core competencies include New Ventures, SME Banking, Project Financing, Team Building, Change Management, Business Development and Good Governance. 

Bilal al-Sugheyer has over 20 years of regional banking experience in investment, corporate and SME Banking in Arab Bank, SGBJ and Palestine Monetary Authority banking supervision department. He has been working in IFC since 2006, and has extensive experience in risk management, SME banking and Islamic banking.

Mohammad Farrukh Raza is Managing Director of Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services (IFAAS). He has 13 years of experience in the Islamic finance industry, and has been involved in developing over 100 Islamic financial products for institutional clients worldwide, including the award-winning Mudaraba product for Working Capital and Project Finance.

Najma Jabri is the Senior Manager, Consumer Banking at Gulf African Bank, Kenya. She previously worked at Barclays Bank of Kenya in operations and PKF Kenya as an auditor.

Registration link has been shared with SME Finance Forum members via email and the Members App. If you are a member of the SME Finance Forum and would like to attend the webinar, contact Farah Siddique fsiddique@ifc.org.