Jaiz, Islamic banks sign $20 million SME deal

Jaiz Bank Plc and Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector, ICD, the development arm of Islamic Development Bank, IDB, yesterday, signed a $20 million deal to finance Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, in the country.

The line of financing will cover sectors such as industry, communications, technology, health, manufacturing, agriculture among others.


Managing Director of Jaiz, Hassan Usman, signed on behalf of the bank, while the Regional Office Director of ICD, Mr. Okan Altasil, signed for ICD.

Usman said: “We will ethically deploy the funds to develop SMEs which is our focus.

“We are going to use it to finance the retail end of the economy with the hope of bringing financing to those financially excluded in line with our mission of making life better for people through ethical financing.”

The ICD Regional Director said the financing opportunity became necessary given SMEs’ crucial role in a country’s growth and development.

The ICD had previously extended $120 million line of financing facility for the development of SMEs in the country.