Thursday, 14 November, 2024
2 pm GST | 12 pm SAST

Securing a competitive edge in the dynamic Islamic Finance landscape

In partnership with

Why attend

When compared to conventional banking, Islamic finance has not always kept pace with the accelerated adoption of technology, yet change is nonetheless afoot as Banks and regulators alike demonstrate a heightened interest in digital banking and FinTech. Globally and within Middle East & African countries financial services institutions are waking up to the potential of Islamic finance, with new regulations implemented to develop the sector.

More specifically Islamic banking penetration in the GCC has increased from 31 per cent in 2008 to 45 per cent in 2017. Pakistan stands as a beacon of Islamic finance, as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has laid out a comprehensive framework to facilitate the transition towards Islamic banking. This includes the adoption of a variety of Islamic finance products like Mudarabah, Murabaha, Ijarah, and Sukuk, among others, which are designed to replace conventional lending products. Even countries like Uganda are making the shift towards Sharia-compliant banking not just preferable but essential.

The dual forces of Islamic banking transition and digital transformation are reshaping the banking sector. The journey towards a fully Sharia-compliant banking system, coupled with the rapid demand by customers for the effective enablement of digital technologies, presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities.

Banks that can navigate these changes effectively to not only comply with regulatory mandates but also meet the evolving needs of their customers, will undoubtedly secure a competitive edge in the dynamic Islamic banking landscape.

Join us for this webinar as our industry experts explore the key milestones in a successful Islamic finance transformation and how best to innovate, adapt, and embrace the digital future while remaining true to the principles of Islamic finance.

The key take-aways

The growing opportunity and new regulatory requirements for fully Sharia-compliant banking systems across MEA

How Banks in MEA can better ensure they deliver outstanding Shari’ah compliant experiences to their customers using a combination of digital and human interaction

The benefit of leveraging advanced product building capabilities and modern technology to create offerings that are compliant and personalized while reducing a Banks operational costs and risks

And many more

The webinar panel

Click to view full speaker details

Ebrahim Tootla, Head Shari'ah Treasury and Finance | STANDARD BANK GROUP

I am a Chartered Accountant with experience in multiple facets of banking. I was part of the two-person team that launched and implemented Shari’ah (Islamic) banking at Standard Bank, the largest bank in Africa (an organization which is over 150 years old). I developed and managed the entire treasury and financial reporting functions for the division. I have experience across multiple facets of banking which include product development utilising agile methodologies, customer engagements, digitalisation and pricing.

In developing the treasury function which needed to be both compliant with Islamic finance rules and the policies of the bank. This required me to use my skill of problem solving to ensure that all stakeholders were satisfied. This involved multiple discussions across complex areas of treasury management to ensure that a solution was found. I then needed to translate these requirements into the IT teams to build it onto the system.

For my contributions to the bank, I was nominated for Mark of Excellence for 2 years running at Standard Bank and was recognised as one of the top 35 Chartered Accountants under 35 years old by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. I was also awarded a scholarship to complete my masters at INCEIF and was selected as one of 23 people globally to complete the designation of Certified Islamic Professional Accountant at AAOIFI.

As the head of the treasury, I oversee the areas of Funds Transfer Pricing (FTP), liquidity management, Asset and Liability management (ALM) and treasury and capital management (TCM). I am deeply involved with risk management where I work on managing liquidity risk, Interest (profit) rate risk, forex risk, displaced commercial risk and Shariah non-compliance risk. I have built systems which monitor these risks and allow for detection of these risk.

Zaid Naveed, Unit Head Business Strategy & Market Intelligence | HABIB BANK AG ZURICH

Global experience: Canada, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia & Pakistan.

Leading Global Projects: Currently launching Islamic Finance Products & Services globally - Switzerland, UK, South Africa, UAE & Pakistan.

Launched a Fintech: Successfully launched one of Pakistan’s first Islamic Fintech's focused on housing and provided financing to first time home-owners across multiple cities in Pakistan.

13+ Years Experience having worked in Financial Services, Real Estate, Fintech / Startups, Audit & Advisory and Advertising.

Mohammed Al Kuraimi, Co-founder & Deputy CEO | AL-KURAIMI ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE BANK

With 18 years of experience and a strong commitment to financial inclusion, Mohammed has dedicated his career to design simple and convenient financial instruments by connecting both investors (financiers and borrowers) for economic growth, making Al-Kuraimi Islamic Microfinance Bank (KIMB) a leading bank in Yemen with the vision of providing banking services to every Yemeni household. KIMB has achieved this by adopting cutting-edge digital banking technologies and innovative Fintech solutions.

Proudly, KIMB has been awarded the SME Financier of The Year – MENA – Silver tier at SME Finance Forum Conference Awards 2024.

With strong educational foundation, Mohammed obtained his bachelor’s degree in business information system from Multimedia University - Malaysia. And his MBA from the University of Kent - UK.

Ali Imran Khan, GM, Deputy CIO | MEEZAN BANK

I am an IT Strategist with a demonstrated history of working in Financial Sector and Capital Market and worked in key positions in leading organization of Pakistan. I am a firm believer of delivering value to the stakeholders through new technologies.

I am currently working as Deputy Chief Information Officer at Meezan Bank Ltd which is the largest bank of Pakistan in terms of Market Cap. Besides this Meezan is also the most profitable bank of the country and its year-on-year growth is unprecedented. I am responsible for the digital transformation of every layer of the organization which includes Customer, Front Offices, Middle Offices and Back Offices. I have thoroughly worked in bringing greater efficiencies to existing IT Services and introduced new capabilities to take organization to the next level. Represented IT at each level of organization and led huge projects starting from winning the business case to benefit realization.

I am highly skilled professional and has diversified exposure of not only every IT domain but also every business vertical. IT domains encompasses IT Governance, Project Management, Business Technology Alignment, Business and Back Office Automation, IT Governance, Quality Assurance, IT Service Management, Information Security, Business Continuity Management, Disaster Recovery Management.

I have also contributed in establishing strong control environment by collaborating with Cyber Security, Risk Management, Audit and Compliance. I have managed the Internal, External and Regulatory Audits starting from review to compliance assurance.

Solange Obeid, Principal Consultant – Business Solution Group | TEMENOS

A leading expert in Islamic Banking and Finance. With over 20 years of experience, Solange has made significant contributions to the development and implementation of Shariah-compliant financial product and services.

Solange has worked with top Islamic Banking providers, where she has been instrumental in designing and implementing innovative financial solutions that align with Islamic Principles. Her role spanned across different departments from implementation, to project management and presales

Solange has delivered numerous presentation and workshops on Islamic Banking at International conferences and academic institutions such as Ecole de Management – Strasbourg.

Gamal Darwish, Head of client engagement MEA | TEMENOS

A results-driven client engagement manager/presales consultant with 14+ years banking consultancy experience. An IT professional with comprehensive core banking systems presales and implementation experience .leading a team with 20+ IT/Banking consultant to implement/demonstrate core banking systems in Gulf and North Africa

Core competencies include:
• Pre-Sales Consultancy
• Bid Management
• RFP Response
• Core Banking Implement
• Islamic Banking
• Client Relations & Negotiations
• Communication Skills

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