In September, DIB Bank Kenya which is celebrating its 4 years anniversary in the country, promised to increase investments in the Kenyan market by supporting the financing of business and individual customers, which is currently valued at Sh10.2bn.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, DIB Bank Kenya began operations in Africa in June 2017 as a full-fledged commercial bank offering financial services to all Kenyans under the umbrella of “Sharia-compliant”, which is a market niche that is based on ethical and moral foundation that generally aims at improving societal structures, and has spread across a majority of African countries among them Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, and South Africa, among others.
“The young progressive bank is a conduit between Kenyans in the UAE and their home country as well as for businessmen who travel to and fro between Kenya and UAE. We are working closely with key stakeholders in the Kenyan Government and the Central Bank of Kenya to enhance the banking sector and financial markets and also offering our expertise in sovereign lending,” Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC and Chairman of DIBBK said in Nairobi.
Dr. Chilwan added that DIBBK is a universal bank not catering to a niche but to the general population – a bank not just for Muslims but for all. Its banking model is designed for everybody regardless of his or her economic
standing, or religion.
In spite of the tough times, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the bank have been able to stay strong, recording a 9.25% growth in total assets to close at Sh14.6bn, with financing assets growing by 16% to close at Sh10.2bn as at
August 2021.
The lender has also been on the forefront of investing in digital assets to ensure customers are able to transact conveniently and effectively. The bank has invested in a mobile app and recently introduced PesaLink to its ways of banking to ensure efficiency and is now looking at increasing its footprints in other parts of the country as they gear towards expanding in the region.
About five years ago, it was the Muslim population that took up the products. Now non Muslims are slowly boarding, revealing the potential of the model. With an increasing number of financial institutions trying to get a piece of the pie customers ought to take a bold step to take advantage of the new market.
The Treasury Chief Administrative Secretary, Eric Wafukho while reading a speech on behalf of the National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary encouraged diversity and inclusion in the financial sector.
“Kenya’s financial inclusion landscape has undergone transformation since 2006, with formal financial inclusion rising to 82% up from 26.7% with complete exclusion narrowing to 11.0% from 41.3%,”
said Wafuckho.
