Dr Shahinaz Hanem Rashad Abdellatif is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree. She also has a Masters in Business Administration (distinction) from Heriot Watt University, UK.
Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I was the vice-president of the International Company for Leasing and the general manager for Upper Egypt for Leasing for 14 years. My main responsibility was to manage lease portfolios for both corporate and small and medium-sized enterprises as well as arranged syndications with prominent banks and other leasing companies across several sectors.
I am also the founder and a board member of several associations as well as the chairperson of the Egyptian Leasing Association, which is the only specialized association that includes the majority of conventional and Islamic bank-related, independent and captive leasing companies in Egypt.
I also obtained an advanced diploma in Islamic finance from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in 2010.
What does your role involve?
The company acts as a global financial advisor for several financial products such as dual banking, syndications and structured Islamic finance: namely Ijarah, Sukuk issuance, project finance, private equity and venture capital transactions across the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Consultancy has a division specializing in financial training under the name of the Metropolitan Academy for accredited Islamic finance and SMEs training.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
Establishing several leasing companies and founding several associations including the Egyptian Leasing Association, and being an advocate for Islamic finance in Egypt.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
The product that delivers the best results is the Ijarah private equity.
What are the strengths of your business?
• A well diversified business model that encompasses a variety of financial services (Islamic banking, leasing, private equity, etc).
• Global advisory services to allow local borrowers and investors/financial institutions to meet.
• We also play an important role in providing awareness and educating the customers; especially the small and medium-sized enterprises across all the governorates.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
A professional team of financial advisors with extensive know-how and backgrounds in various and well-diversified financial products.
In addition, the company has a wide pool of local and international networks among clients on the one hand and investors/banking and non-banking financial institutions on the other. In this regard, the company has signed several MOUs with local and international financial institutions.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
One of the obstacles is the inability of some customers to differentiate between conventional and Islamic finance in Egypt.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in the next five years?
I expect more awareness about the significance of Islamic finance as an alternative source of finance. Accordingly, it is foreseen that the Islamic finance industry shall permeate the developing markets in the Middle East (especially Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Maghreb, etc) and compete with its conventional counterpart.
I anticipate that the global Islamic finance community will strive for more consistency in terms of accounting rules, Shariah governance, a supportive legal and regulatory environment and a strong judicial system. Thus, we should expect more facilitation by allowing for Shariah courts rather than civil courts.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
Global standardization of Islamic finance practices in general and product structuring, risk management tools, AAOIFI accounting, legal and Shariah governance in particular; as well as the proliferation of Shariah scholars.