Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 10^th November 2023 – The Islamic Development Bank has hosted a study visit program for officials from Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The program, which ran from November 6th to November 10th, 2023,in Kuala Lumpur,  aimed to explore educational methodologies.

This is an initiative undertaken by the Bank aimed to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and expertise between Malaysia and IsDB Member Countries thereby enabling them to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Islamic Finance & Economic Empowerment ecosystem in Malaysia.

IsDB officials accompanying the participants comprise Br. Samer Elesawi, Head of KLCoE, Dr. Houssem Eddine Bedoui of Global Practice and Partnerships Directorate’s Front Office, Br. Mohd Yusri Bin Yusof of ISFD, Br. Mohamed Mazen Dakhli of DG-Country Programs, Br. Mohd Takyuddin Bin Yahya, Br. Johan Khalidi and Br. Bassam Al Attar of the KLCoE.

Throughout the program, the participating delegates had the privilege of delving into Malaysia's best practices in the field, equipping them with the knowledge and skills essential for developing their own Economic Empowerment initiatives founded on Islamic finance principles and practices.

The delegates were presented with various disciplinary within the Islamic Finance landscape, encompassing Islamic Banking regulatory framework, Capital Market, Takaful Industry, Social Finance, Offshore Finance, Investment/ Sovereign Wealth Fund, MSME Financing, Trade Finance, Hajj Fund operations, Cooperatives and Credit Guarantee Schemes.

Notably, the program featured valuable contributions and insights from esteemed institutions in Malaysia, including the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM), the Securities Commission (SC), INCEIF University, Tabung Haji (TH), Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC), Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA), Khazanah Nasional Berhad, SME Bank, EXIM Bank,  National Waqf Foundation (YWM) and Maybank.

In the context of economic empowerment, the delegates came to know about Malaysia's cooperative business model, shared by the Malaysian National Cooperatives Movement (ANGKASA). A site visit to Masjid Al-Hasanah provided the delegates with a deeper understanding of the 'Mosque Cooperatives' business model and its practical application. In addition, SME Corporation, TEKUN, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) and Bank Rakyat were also among the prominent institutions that have shared some valuable insights to the participants in the economic empowerment perspective.

The study tour set the grounds to forge meaningful collaborations between Malaysia and the respective countries within the framework of IsDB's programs and financing initiatives.