Bahrain-based Ebdaa Bank for Microfinance has signed a deal with Shariyah Review Bureau to help set up the sharia supervisory board, certify and supervise its upcoming sharia compliant products besides providing advice and support to enhance the bank’s ability to adopt the best sharia compliant processes and procedures.  

A microfinance institution licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, Ebdaa provides credit opportunities to limited-income people and micro-business owners.

The innovative products will comprise high quality financing characteristics in line with Ebdaa’s vision to boost socio-economic development of communities in the Kingdom of Bahrain in a shariah complaint manner, said a statement from Ebdaa.                 

"There is an increasing demand from our customers for micro-products that express personal faith values,” remarked Khaled Al Gazawi, the CEO of Ebdaa Bank.

"That’s why at Ebdaa, we have decided to offer wide-ranging funding opportunities compliant with faith based aspirations. Moving forward, a stronger attention will be given to designing sharia-compliant products that responds to the aspirations of our clients. Furthermore, a deeper look at the current processes and procedures to match this forward thinking will be our focus in the coming few months," he added.

Ghaith Al-Munem, Operations Manager, Ebdaa Bank, said: "Here in Bahrain, sharia compliant products and services have gone mainstream, and today more and more customers are looking to pursue positive change with Islamic financial modalities."

Commenting on the new products, Al Munem said: "We will work with SRB, a leading sharia advisory firm licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, to implement a set of aspirational Islamic financial principles that underpins the framework for integrating Sharia compliant factors into our products financing criteria and operating practices."

"These guidelines will not only be aligned with Sharia principles but also the goals and values of Ebdaa’s poverty alleviation vision," he stated.

For over 13 years, SRB’s business has been winning and deepening relationships with institutions around the world through its value-focused conversations.

As the kingdom’s only sharia advisory firm licensed by the CBB, it has been focusing on innovation in Sharia advisory and Sharia audit solutions. This approach has helped the firm succeed by building a scholarly platform that covers over 17 countries and helps optimize Sharia Supervisory Board services and also help create meaningful solutions for its clients.

Speaking on the new engagement Yasser S. Dahlawi, CEO of Shariyah Review Bureau, said: “We are delighted to welcome a microfinance bank like Ebdaa  to our clientele base.”

"We have strong relationships with institutional investors, Islamic banks and Takaful firms, and we are committed to building deeper impact with those relationships," he stated.

"Ebdaa’s poverty alleviation objectives appealed to us because of their focus on social inclusion. By supporting low-income families, empowering and assisting Bahraini women and youth, they provide opportunities to turn ideas into micro-projects which trigger real economic activities," he added.-TradeArabia News Service