• The five-year facility aims to boost lending to underserved small businesses.
• Senegal’s Islamic Bank would expand its sharia-compliant financing.
• The project supports Senegal’s push to grow SME credit fivefold by 2028.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private-sector arm, is preparing a sharia-compliant credit line worth up to €40 million (about $44.6 million) for Senegal’s Islamic Bank (BIS). The proposed funding, still pending board approval on May 9, 2025, would be extended over five years and include a two-year grace period.

The goal is to help BIS grow its Islamic finance offerings, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that often struggle to access traditional banking services. This could support more inclusive economic growth in key sectors such as agriculture and trade.

IFC will also assist BIS in strengthening its risk management systems to ensure sustainable growth in a shifting financial landscape.

Although more than 90 percent of Senegal’s population is Muslim, Islamic finance remains underdeveloped. At the same time, over 98 percent of the country’s economy is made up of small and medium-sized businesses, which receive only 9 percent of available credit due to conservative lending practices.

Senegal aims to raise SME lending from CFA600 billion ($1.03 billion) in 2024 to CFA3000 billion by 2028. If the IFC investment goes through, it could play a key role in reaching that goal.

Sandrine Gaingne