Coast college to teach Islamic finance after MoU with Malaysian varsity

From left: NCEIF president Daud Vicary Abdullah, Coast International College official Mahrus Bakhshwein and Mombasa Jubilee gubernatorial aspirant Suleiman Shahbal during the signing an MoU on March 29, 2017. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • INCEIF is a leading research training institution owned by the Central Bank of Malaysia.
  • Mr Abdullah said the MoU will pave way for the hosting of Islamic finance conferences in Africa.
  • Kenya already has two fully fledged Sharia complaint banks.

Mombasa-based Coast International College has signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with a Malaysian university which will see it offer a diploma course in Islamic finance.

The college also signed a letter of collaboration with the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) which is a leading research training institution owned by the Central Bank of Malaysia.

The MoU was signed by the college principal Loise Gichuki, INCEIF president and chief executive officer Daud Vicary Abdullah, Mombasa gubernatorial aspirant, who is also the founder of Coast International College, Mr Suleiman Shahbal and other representatives.

Both the college and the university are focused on developing programmes aligned to Kenya’s future economic development with a focus on business administration, marine and port services, oil and gas studies, hospitality and tourism.

DEGREE

The college will offer courses that will seamlessly integrate with the degree programmes at the Coast International University which is awaiting approval from the Commission for university Education so that it can offer degree courses.

Through the agreement, the Malaysia university will provide curriculum, course materials and lectures related to Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic law of contract, financial accounting and fundamentals of Islamic banking among others.

Mr Abdullah said the MoU will pave way for the hosting of Islamic finance conferences in Africa which will seek to advance Islamic finance knowledge and develop the global Islamic finance industry.

Kenya already has two fully fledged Sharia complaint banks, Gulf African Bank and First Community Bank, and a fully-fledged insurance service provider, Takaful Insurance of Africa.