Standard Investment Bank (SIB) has launched Shariah-compliant investment services, targeting institutional and high-net-worth individual clients.
The division will provide investment solutions that are in line with Shariah laws in investment banking, management, securities trading and corporate finance services.
“SIB Najah is the investment division of SIB that provides Shariah-compliant investment banking solutions in the region, we have several offerings; our flagship product the wealth management fund known as Mansa X open to anyone with a minimum joining balance of Sh100,000 or $1000,” said Abdullahi Omar Adan, executive director of SIB’s Islamic Investment Banking division.
He adds the fund is operated in two currencies; the dollar and the Kenya shilling.
MansaX Shariah is a multi-asset fund, regulated and domiciled in Kenya that invests in Shari’ah-compliant assets in the global markets.
The fund is a product of SIB Najah, the Islamic Investment Banking division of Standard Investment Bank.
Mansa X’s primary objective is to offer investors seeking Shari’ah-compliant and ethical global markets investments an avenue to earn a return.
The term ‘Shariah-compliant’ is used in Islamic finance to denote that a financial product or service complies with the principles of Islamic Law.
Examples of non-permissible financial activities in Islamic law are those that are interest-based or businesses that are in the alcohol, pork, entertainment and tobacco industries.
The demand for Islamic banking comes at a time when the Islamic community has been underrepresented in financing options and investors are keen to tap into the population.
Islamic financing further prioritises lending to ventures considered “ethical and sustainable” with social benefits and prohibits funding speculative activity.
“In response to the demand for investments that fit with people’s ethical leanings, today, I am thrilled to introduce SIB Najah, a revolutionary of Islamic Investment Banking in the region,” said Nickay Wangunyu, SIB’s Executive Director of Strategy and Operations during the launch.
The uptake of Shariah-compliant financial products has been adversely affected by some factors that include but are not limited to the lack of skilled Islamic finance professionals, poor perception and lack of awareness.
