The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) welcomed Shelter Afrique for a bilateral meeting at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 14 May 2023.
Shelter Afrique’s visit came in the wake of the IsDB Group Annual Meetings, which concluded on 13 May. The meeting allowed the two institutions to take stock of progress in their existing technical collaboration and explore potential partnerships in newer priority areas to benefit the IsDB Member Countries and others.
The IsDB Institute’s team comprised Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, the Acting Director General, and Dr. Abozer Majzoub, Senior Islamic Finance Specialist. Shelter Afrique was represented by Mr. Thierno Habib Hann, Managing Director, and Dr. Muhammad Gambo, Manager of Strategy, Policy, Research and Partnership.
Shelter Afrique is a multi-lateral financial development institution specializing in housing finance in Africa. With an existing membership of 44 African countries, in addition to the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Africa Reinsurance Company, Shelter Afrique builds strategic partnerships to support the delivery of affordable housing, commercial real estate, and urban development in the region. Nearly all of IsDB’s 27 member countries in Africa are also members of Shelter Afrique.
The IsDB Institute and Shelter Afrique have started working together in Islamic finance and capacity building for affordable housing finance utilizing Islamic finance. In May 2022, IsDBI organized technical training for Shelter Afrique to enhance the capacity building of Shelter Afrique in Islamic finance.
During this meeting, Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem reaffirmed the Institute’s commitment to working with Shelter Afrique to address development issues faced by the Islamic finance industry in Africa and IsDB member countries.
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As a main takeaway from the meeting, both institutions agreed to extend the cooperation between both organizations and to develop an action plan to develop instruments and policies to support the sustainable development of our Member Countries in Africa within the framework of Islamic finance.
source: isdbinstitute
