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interview
Islamic Banking in Africa
Interview with Afzal Seedat,
Head of Absa Islamic Banking
What do you believe is the potential for Islamic banking on
the African continent?
Africa is home to the second-largest Muslim population after
Asia. It is estimated that there are 450 million African Muslims.
Sources indicate that Muslims make up 45% of the population on
the African continent.
The presence of Islam in Africa dates back to the seventh
century when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) advised some of
his followers who were facing persecution to travel across the
Red Sea to the safety of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Thus Africa
became a safe haven for Muslims and the first place that Islam
was practised outside of the Arabian Peninsula.
The prevalence of Muslims in African countries ranges from
approximately 95% of the population of Egypt in the North, to only
2% in South Africa. Between those extremes lies a significant
banking opportunity. Even when the percentage of the population
is small, as in South Africa, the relative affluence tends to be
high, as Muslims are often entrepreneurs and business owners.
In South Africa for example, it is commonly believed that the 2%
of the population which is Muslim contributes about 10% of the
country’s GDP.
The opportunity for Islamic banking provided by the large numbers
of Muslims on the African continent has yet to be realized. The
vast majority of Africans are unbanked. Delivering a faith-based
solution that responds to a person’s religious beliefs is bound to
be a stronger proposition than conventional banking has been
able to offer Muslims to date.
Africa is home to the
second-largest Muslim
population after Asia. It is
estimated that there are 450
million African Muslims. Sources
indicate that Muslims make up
45% of the population on
the African continent
What has been done to date to realize this opportunity?
Islamic banking in Africa began in Egypt in the 1960s and today
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