Officials and African actors in the world of finance have expressed, on 16 September in Abidjan, their desire to attract more financing from the Muslim-Arab world to cover the shortfalls in resources experienced by the continent. "The sector of Islamic finance offers excellent prospects for the African continent that our states should seize", declared the Ivorian Prime Minister, Daniel Kablan Duncan, at the opening of the Africa Islamic Finance Forum (FAFI).

For his part the Ivorian Minister of Plan and Development, Albert Toikeusse Mabri (photo), estimated that halal finance has several advantages for Africa, notably pointing to its low price. "Islamic investments have the characteristic of being readily available, in order to carry out development actions, to be at a low price and of an altruistic nature", he remarked. On this occasion Mr. Mabri invited West Africa "which has for a long time remained hardly mobilised by this new mode of partnership with Arab countries" to benefit from this option.

"Almost half the countries of the Arab League member states 10/22 are in Africa and their economies account for more than 33% of the GDP of the African continent", noted the Director of the Arab Bank for Economic Development of Africa (BADEA), Sidi Ould Tah. "We remain committed to act today more than ever so that the economy, commerce, direct investment and finance strengthen this intertwining that we wish to render indivisible", he suggested.

List and results of 219 Islamic investment funds

After South Africa and Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire is preparing to subscribe to its first sukuk for the purpose of mobilising FCFA350 billion (about €534 million), thanks to the support of the Islamic Development Bank (BID) which has branches in Senegal, Niger, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania.

Africa cruelly lacks resources to finance its economic development and infrastructure. According to data published at the Africa Islamic Finance Forum, African banks remain "in spite of efforts achieved, Insufficiently capitalised and have for the most part short term even very short term resources, with a rate on demand deposit of 58.4% in the West African Economic Monetary Union WAEMU area".