WAMA Forges Strategic Partnership with the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFsB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to Advance Islamic Finance and Financial Inclusion in ECOWAS
On July 2, 2025, the Director General of the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), Mr. Boima S. Kamara, held a high-level meeting with the Secretary General of the IFsB, Dr. Ghiath Shabsigh, and the Chairman of the IsDB, Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco. The meetings were convened to forge institutional collaborations aimed at advancing Islamic banking & finance, and financial inclusion across the ECOWAS region.
The meetings marked a significant step forward in WAMA’s regional integration agenda, particularly in developing a robust regulatory and supervisory environment for Islamic financial services and WAMA’s search for support to develop a regional Shariah governance framework to guide the regulation and supervision of Islamic banks across Member States. The engagements resulted in a mutual agreement for the IFsB to provide Technical Assistance (TA) and the IsDB to do same but largely focus on Financial Assistance (FA) to the WAMA for the development of 2 key regional initiatives: a Model Roadmap for the Implementation of Islamic Banking and Finance, and a Model Shariah Governance Framework for the regulation and supervision of Islamic financial institutions within ECOWAS Member States.
The parties recognized the growing demand for Islamic finance within the region and emphasized the importance of a harmonized framework to ensure consistency, stability, and regulatory clarity. The initiative aligns with global best practices while catering to the unique institutional and legal landscapes of the ECOWAS countries.
To facilitate the smooth execution of these initiatives, it was agreed that a Joint Technical Team, comprising staff from WAMA and IFsB, will be established. This team will be responsible for drafting, reviewing, and finalising the deliverables, while ensuring broad regional consultation and alignment with global standards.
This collaboration marks a significant milestone in WAMA’s efforts to provide regional leadership in the development of Islamic finance, reinforcing its mandate to harmonise financial policies and promote sustainable economic growth across the ECOWAS region. In the spirit of forging strategic partnership, it was agreed that IFsB and WAMA will begin hosting regional workshops and trainings to allow for peer-to-peer learning experience and other thematic areas of concerns by Member States. On the part of IsDB, a roadmap on next steps is being developed to provide the blue-print for WAMA and IsDB strategic partnership.
