ICD Expands Africa’s Islamic Finance Horizons

JEDDAH  --&nbspThe Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (“ICIEC”), a Shariah-based multilateral insurer, and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (“ICD”) (www.ICD-PS.org), the private sector arm of the IsDB Group, both members of the Islamic Development Bank (“IsDB”) Group, celebrated the successful completion of their first joint syndicated financing transaction in Uzbekistan, marking an important milestone in strengthening intra-Group collaboration.
This landmark collaboration represents a significant milestone in strengthening strategic synergy within the IsDB Group by combining ICD's syndication, structuring and private sector financing capabilities with ICIEC's credit risk mitigation solutions. Together, the two institutions are expanding the availability of Shariah-compliant financing, mobilizing private capital, trade expansion, and supporting sustainable private sector investment across member countries.

Under this pioneering syndication arrangement, ICD successfully led a USD 60 million Shariah-compliant Syndicated Financing Facility for Joint Stock Company “Asakabank” (“Asakabank”) in Uzbekistan, with an accordion feature to increase the facility size, while ICIEC provided USD 30 million in Credit Risk Insurance coverage in favour of a Kuwaiti bank against the risk of default by the obligor within the framework of the ICD’s Syndicated financing Facility.

Boubyan Bank participated as the sole Kuwaiti financial institution in the syndication, demonstrating its continued commitment to innovative Shariah-compliant financing structures and regional private sector development. Its participation highlights the growing appetite among Islamic financial institutions for structured syndication opportunities supported by robust risk mitigation solutions.

By combining ICD’s expertise in structuring and mobilizing Shariah-compliant syndicated financing facilities with ICIEC’s credit risk mitigation expertise, the transaction demonstrates how integrated IsDB Group solutions can catalyze greater participation from regional and international financial institutions. The collaboration not only expands financing capacity but also strengthens confidence in Islamic syndicated financing as a scalable instrument for supporting private sector growth. It also supports the broader objective of enabling businesses to access the financing needed to grow, create jobs, strengthen value chains, and contribute to economic resilience.

Commenting on the milestone, Dr. Khalid Khalafalla, CEO of ICIEC and Acting CEO of ICD, said: “This first joint syndication transaction between ICIEC and ICD reflects the strength of collaboration within the IsDB Group and our shared commitment to delivering integrated, Shariah-compliant solutions that respond to the financing needs of member countries. By bringing together ICD’s mandate to support private sector development and ICIEC’s expertise in credit risk insurance, we are helping to unlock financing, strengthen confidence among financial institutions, and channel capital towards businesses and projects that contribute to job creation, economic diversification, and sustainable growth. This transaction sets an important precedent for future cooperation between our institutions and reinforces our collective role in delivering tangible development impact across our member countries.”

The transaction also reflects ICIEC's and ICD’s shared commitment to expanding access to finance, strengthening Islamic finance solutions, and supporting transactions that contribute to economic growth, resilience, and development impact.

As part of the IsDB Group, ICIEC and ICD will continue to deepen collaboration in developing innovative Islamic financing structures, expanding syndication platforms, and mobilizing regional and international capital to support private sector development, trade, infrastructure, and sustainable economic growth across member countries.