What is the market potential for Islamic finance in Kenya and East Africa?
Kenya has a Muslim population of 4 million while the whole of East Africa has a sizeable Muslim population of between 25 million to 30 million. At the moment, our focus and activities are purely focused on the Kenyan market. Although we have shareholders from neighboring Tanzania, FCB does not have a branch in Dar es Salaam, nor are there any plans to open branches in the region. Some investors in Tanzania have applied to the Bank of Tanzania, the central bank, to establish their own Islamic bank, which may be called Al-Barakah Bank. FCB can only go into regional expansion after three to four years of operations in Kenya. In addition it will need permission from the Central Bank of Kenya to venture abroad and will have to show a good track record at home. How is FCB adding value to its Islamic banking activities and proposition in Kenya? Mohammed Mbaye, former deputy governor of the Bank of Tanzania has joined as an independent director. He comes to us with a lot of value addition in t
