Vice President Kashim Shettima yesterday asked African nations to scale up and leverage on Islamic finance mechanisms as drivers of shared prosperity across the continent.
He spoke in Lagos on Tuesday while declaring open the 7th African International Conference on Islamic Finance.
The Conference was organised by the Metropolitan Law and Metropolitan Skills Ltd in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) with the theme: “Africa Emerging: A Prosperous and Inclusive Outlook.”
The two – day conference brought together regulators, scholars, development partners, and investors from across the African continent.
The Vice President, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Tope Fasua, noted that Islamic finance provides a credible framework for promoting shared prosperity, rooted in ethics, fairness, and social responsibility.
According to him, Nigeria’s experience demonstrates the transformative potential of Islamic finance instruments such as Sukuk, Takaful, Murabaha, and Waqf, which have financed critical infrastructure and expanded access to inclusive financial services.
“Our sukuk issuances, now in their seventh cycle, have funded more than 120 major road projects covering nearly 6,000 kilometres.
“Each bond represents a covenant between government and citizens, proof that finance can build rather than burden,” the VP said.
Shettima added that takaful insurance is extending protection to millions of previously excluded households, while waqf endowments are being explored to support schools, hospitals, and small businesses.
“Islamic finance aligns with our conviction that enterprise must serve humanity and wealth must circulate to uplift communities,” he said.
Shettima submitted that countries like Egypt, Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa are developing regulatory frameworks for Islamic banking, green sukuk, and socially responsible investments.
He said by 2030, the share of Islamic finance in Africa’s capital markets is projected to expand significantly.
The VP asked policymakers to sustain reforms that strengthen transparency, governance, and investor protection.
The Conference Chairperson Ms Ummahani Ahmad Amin said that AICIF was conceived as a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing to advance Islamic finance as a viable alternative source of funding for Africa’s socio-economic needs.
She noted that while Islamic finance assets globally reached $3.88 trillion in 2024, Africa still lags behind in harnessing its full potential to close the continent’s annual infrastructure financing gap of up to $170 billion.
She emphasised that challenges such as limited liquidity, weak market infrastructure, and inadequate investor education must be addressed for Islamic finance to reach its potential.
The SEC Chairman, Mairiga Katuka said Nigeria’s non-interest capital market had grown rapidly under the Capital Market Masterplan (2015-2025), with sovereign sukuk raising over N1.4 trillion and funding 124 critical road projects nationwide.
Katuka noted that Nigeria now has 19 registered halal mutual funds managing over N112 billion in assets, up from one fund in 2008, and pledged the SEC’s commitment to evolving regulatory frameworks for innovations such as innovative sukuk, tokenisation, and blockchain-enabled transparency.
