2022 has been very rich in the Ivory Coast and can even be considered as a fairly decisive turning point in the evolution of Islamic finance, a year marked by several training and awareness initiatives, strengthening the regulatory framework and also international cooperation with encouraging prospects for the year to come.
Review of 2022
The Central Bank of West African States, BCEAO, has submitted for consultation to the Islamic financial institutions of the UEMOA [West African Economic and Monetary Union] including those of the Ivory Coast, a draft instruction relating to financial statements, accounting and the prudential system applicable to Islamic financial institutions in the region. An initiative that marks the very clear intention of the regulatory authorities to strengthen the regulatory framework for Islamic finance activity.
On the 23rd and 24th July 2011, the Abidjan Takaful Conference was held in the Ivory Coast. An annual event which was in its first edition and which aims to promote Takaful in Africa and in the UEMOA zone. This conference brought together stakeholders from across the industry to discuss the development issues of this new type of insurance in the region.
On the 4th August 2022, an awareness-raising workshop on Islamic finance was held in Abidjan-Plateau with the theme ‘Islamic Finance at the service of the State: Interaction between the State and the Islamic Finance Industry’ organized by the Financial Sector Development Program (PDESFI) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in partnership with Islamic Finance Intelligence and Management.
Siaka Fanny, the executive secretary of PDESFI, said that the workshop should allow participants to know the potential of Islamic finance for the Republic and to highlight the contribution of Islamic finance to the Ivorian economic development and finally, for economic operators, to better understand the advantages of using Islamic finance.
Minister of State and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Ivory Coast Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani on the 19th October 2022 received a delegation from the IsDB led by Cheick Amadou Diallo, the head of operations for Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
Diallo marked his commitment to support the Ministry of Agriculture for the financing of the development program for cassava value chains, the Cassava Value Chain Program, amounting to XOF30 billion (US$47.1 million) and the development program of the rice sector with around US$100–150 million with a start envisaged in 2023. The minister of agriculture welcomed the commitment of the IsDB to finance agricultural research, in particular the rehabilitation of the National Research Center in Agronomics from 2023.
The president of the IsDB Group, Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, on his working visit in the Ivory Coast on the 26th and 27th October 2022, said he was present “to expand cooperation with the Ivory Coast”. He had high-level meetings with the Ivorian state authorities, talks with the minister of planning and development, the prime minister, the vice-president of the Republic and finally Alassane Ouattara, the president of the Republic.
The chairman of the IsDB mentioned that: “The Ivory Coast is a very important country for the IsDB. Today, we have a portfolio that exceeds US$2 billion, in terms of financing. We have 56 operations ongoing in the field. Nialé Kaba, the minister of planning and development, on her part, said: “The level of the bank’s commitment alongside the Ivory Coast has a portfolio of projects which increased from US$250 million from 2002 to 2010, to US$1.6 billion in 2020, to reach US$2.1 billion in 2022.”
The Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets had his Council of Ministers adopt on the 30th September 2022 a draft decision amending the General Regulations relating to the organization, operation and the control of the regional financial market and a draft regulation relating to Islamic financial securities, self-managed Sukuk issuing companies (SPVs) and the Sukuk Issuing Fund in the UEMOA. The adoption of these texts aims to create an appropriate legal anchor for the introduction of Islamic financial instruments into the regional market including the Ivory Coast.
Preview of 2023
2023 should see the instructions relating to accounting, reporting and the prudential system officially published and implemented by Islamic financial institutions in the Ivory Coast.
Consultation should also take place on draft contracts and Shariah governance guidelines for Islamic financial institutions in the Ivory Coast.
Conclusion
The Ivory Coast is firmly committed to fully playing its leading role in the development of the Islamic finance industry in the region. The authorities are now taking initiatives that are accompanied by Islamic donors. In such a context, there is no doubt that the year 2023 will be full of accomplishments.
Abbas Cherif is an independent consultant for the IsDB. He can be contacted at [email protected].