Accra, July 03, GNA – The Muslim Ummah Development Initiative (MUDI Group), has launched the “MUDI Halal Investment Expo” to sensitise Muslim investors to start interest free investment journey.
The Expo, which is scheduled to take place in January 2022, seeks to create a platform for Muslim entrepreneurs to exhibit products and services that are halal (ethical) to both Muslims and none Muslims in the country.
The event will also provide opportunities and experiences for people to build wealth and is designed to help, educate and inspire investors on the theme: “Enhancing the Future of the Business Industry in Ghana”.
Hajj Abdel-Manan Abdel-Rahman, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MUDI Group, said the initiative would use halal Co-operatives concept to enhance businesses.
He explained that over the years, the Muslims in Ghana had no choice than to use the conventional financial systems from banks and capital market instruments for their day-to-day financial and business needs because there were no alternatives.
“But as the awareness grew within the Muslim community on the need to structure their financial transactions in line with their religious beliefs and to jettison riba or interest-bearing transactions, the community has to create alternatives themselves,” he stated.
He said one of such alternatives was a co-operative society, which afforded individuals the opportunity to make contributions and get loans from the pool of funds without having to pay interest on the loan.
This approach serves as a smart way to go around riba (interest based) among the Muslims, thus creating opportunities to have funds for their business growth in a way that was consistent with halal.
He said, MUDI Group had introduced various models such as MUDI Farms, MUDI HajjUmra Services Ltd and MUDI Multi-Purpse Co-operative societies.
Mr Nuhu Ibrahim, Head of Budget at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), speaking on behalf of the Chief Director, outlined a number of programmes government was embarking on which investors could tap into under the MUDI Farms model.
He said government was doing that to remove constraints and bulkiness on Ghanaians and urged Muslims to take advantage of such interventions to invest in their businesses.
Mr Kwabena Apraku Yeboah, the Deputy Registrar of Co-operatives, commended MUDI Group for the initiative aimed at growing the local economy and advised the CEO of MUDI Group to take laws governing Co-operatives seriously to achieve objectives.
Mr Yusuf Mustapha, Head of Procurement, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), said global trends indicated that the future was Islamic banking and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) UK, estimated that Islamic banks would be growing between 15 to 20 per cent annually.
He said the total market capitalization of Islamic institutions involved in Islamic banking was 2.4 trillion dollars with about 77 Islamic banks on the London stock exchange.
“Ghanaian Muslims, therefore, need to start now because the current banking regime does not support Islamic banking. Advocacy with banks now is key to enable them introduce Islamic banking,” he said.
GNA
GNA