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East Africa Business Network, along with GBS Africa and Anjarwalla and Khanna will organize the East Africa Islamic Finance Summit (EAIFS) on February 17, 2016. The meeting will hold discussions regarding the issues affecting Islamic Finance development, especially in East Africa.

According to the event's official website EAIFS, the event is carried out to provide a forum to discuss the potential of Islamic finance and investment in Africa, also to enable a platform to unite GCC and foreign investors with African companies and professionals. The discussion and meetings are considered highly important to form productive relationships and stimulate economic growth in East Africa specifically.

Islamic financial issues are uniquely important for East Africa region because they have potentially strong demand for Islamic Finance services and products, according to Citizen TV. That claim is backed by the fact that the Islamic Finance industry has registered a significant growth in recent years. The annual growth rate is estimated to be over 20 percent.

One of the key aspects to be discussed are available alternatives for the region to obtain finance sources. The finances are to be used in East Africa mainly for infrastructure projects and cope with the budget deficit.

Other important aspects to be covered in the meeting include regulatory framework, regional infrastructure projects, and Islamic bonds or Sukuk. Overall, the context of the discussions will be the opportunities and challenges that are shaping the Islamic banking, finance, and investment landscape in East Africa.

The summit will involve experts in Islamic Finance, regulators, and other related authorities, also senior executives from various financial sectors. The organizers expected that the summit will initiate dialogue as well as build network between the region's financial key players, including institutions, policy makers, and Islamic Finance institutions.

The Star noted that the booming African Islamic economy also provides an opportunity for deprived conditions in Africa. Moreover, Islamic finance is not only for the people of Islam but also for non-Muslim nations. The Islamic Finance support real economic activity without changing interest, cover project finance, trade finance, and the buying and selling of goods at a profit. It also endorses risk-sharing to both the lender and loanee, as well as ruling out hedging, derivatives and lending at interest.

The summit will be held in Kenya's capital Nairobi. The regional meeting is expected to help regulators, as well as financial key players, to identify the important issues regarding Islamic financial and deal with them properly, as well as finding alternative finance sources for the region's development.

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Africa