Nama'a Academy for Microfinance and Nama'a Small and Microfinance Foundation successfully concluded the training program, "Diploma in Islamic Finance," on Thursday, December 21, 2023.
As part of the series of courses, 20 participants, including students from the Faculty of Agriculture at Sana'a University, received training on "Islamic Finance" over the course of five days, with an average of three hours per day, organized by Nama'a Academy for Microfinance.
The program aimed to familiarize the participants with the concept and characteristics of Islamic finance, the origins of Islamic finance and transactions, the workings of Islamic and traditional financial institutions, the concept and types of money from an Islamic perspective, types of contracts and sales in Islamic jurisprudence, as well as Islamic investment, its objectives, regulations, and types.
Participants also learned the fundamentals of Islamic finance formulas, their advantages and risks, and the clarification of the pillars and contents of contracts related to profit-sharing, partnership, and leasing ending with ownership. Additionally, they discussed the current status of Islamic microfinance in Yemen, the challenges and risks it faces, and proposed solutions to overcome them.
This training program is part of a series of courses and training programs conducted by the academy during the current year to raise community awareness about Islamic finance culture and the fundamentals of microfinance. These play a crucial role in achieving real economic development and sustainable growth. Microfinance in Yemen faces numerous challenges, including the lack of qualified specialized personnel in this field, the absence of a microfinance and Islamic finance culture, weak infrastructure, difficult rural environment, wars and their consequences at all levels, the absence of markets for microfinance products, liquidity shortages, and inadequate support for small and micro projects.
The course instructor, Mr. Ali Abdul Karim Al-Mutawakil, stressed the urgent need for the establishment of a professional and Sharia-compliant procedure guide for financing small projects, creation of an Islamic cooperative insurance for financing operations, and the activation of other Islamic finance formulas to support development, risk distribution, achieve self-sufficiency, and realize genuine and sustainable development.
The closing ceremony was attended by Mr. Tawfiq Al-Hakimi, Deputy Executive Director of Nama'a Small and Microfinance Foundation. At the end of the training program, certificates were distributed to the participants.
