Alternative Bank advances expansion of non-interest banking in Africa

L-R: Rabiatou Jallow; Saffiatou Bah; Hassan Yusuf, managing director of The Alternative Bank; Malick Joof and Cherno Mboob, during the visit of the representative of BCIS Gambia, to The Alternative Bank, on a two-week study tour in Nigeria.

Determined to expand its reach beyond the shores of Nigeria, The Alternative Bank (TAB) has hosted a delegation from Banque Sahelo-Saharienne pour L’Investissement et le Commerce (BSIC group), a Gambian bank on a study on Islamic Banking.

The two-week exchange programme is to promote collaboration between the non-interest banking sectors of Nigeria and that of The Gambia.

Hassan Yusuf, managing director of TAB, said that a four-member delegation from BSIC is embarking on a study tour of TAB’s operational and business processes as part of the prerequisites of capacity development for issuance of an Islamic Banking Window License by The Central Bank of The Gambia.

Yusuf said the visit will help nurture stronger relationships between The Alternative Bank and BSIC.

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“The exchange programme has the potential for significant impact on Gambia’s financial landscape specifically, on the broader scope of continent’s non-interest banking market,” he said.

Malick Joof, team lead for BSIC and Director of the Islamic Banking Window, said this visit provides them an opportunity to learn first-hand from the largest ethical banking organisation in one of the most technologically advanced financial services markets on the continent.

“With this visit, we can take forward learnings that will further improve our operations in Gambia, and hopefully begin to lay the foundations for collaborations with the potential to expand ethical banking across the continent,” Joof said.

BSIC was established by the CEN-SAD community in April 1999 with a mission to serve as the financial vehicle for the economic integration of the CEN-SAD nations and to facilitate the regional integration of the African continent.

It operates in 14 African countries and aspires to be a prominent banking group on the continent, distinguishing itself as the sole bank providing investment and commercial services in the Gambian banking industry.