Finance experts drawn from non-interest finance sector across Africa recently gathered in Nigeria to chart way forward for deepening interest and adoption of non-interest finance and takaful among Africans.

The event was the second edition of the African Takaful and Non-Interest Finance Conference, organised by Noor Takaful Insurance Limited in Lagos. The event with the theme, "Islamic Finance and Takaful: Building Resilience in a Volatile World," focused on finding new ideas that would ensure that financial resources become more equitable, especially to the underserved.

In his welcome address, the Chairman, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Muhtar Bakare,

explained that non-interest finance and Takaful have become the most tenable, time-tested, and culturally appropriate catalysts for change in Africa at a time when conventional finance has fallen short of meeting people's basic needs.

Bakare said takaful and non-interest finance, which were rooted in the principles of solidarity, trust, equity, and risk sharing, remain the best models as they align seamlessly with the teachings of all three Abrahamic faiths and with the communal ethos of African societies.

In her remarks, the Chairperson of the National Insurance Commission, Halima Kyari, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner, Usman Jankara, stated that the agency had been instrumental in promoting the growth of the Takaful insurance industry in Nigeria through several initiatives, some of which included the issuance of Takaful Operational guidelines and the license of five Takaful operators.