Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance 360-degree approach towards capacity building

Overwhelming Need for Capacity Building: According to conservative estimates the Islamic Finance industry currently employees over 25,000 professionals. Based on a projected 30% growth of Islamic financial sector and SBP's vision to increase share of Islamic banking to 20% by 2020, the annual demand of qualified and trained Islamic finance professionals is projected at around 4,000 to 5,000 for the next 5 years. Furthermore, the need for qualified and skilled Islamic finance experts in the industry including professional accountants and auditors can be estimated at 800 per annum after the development of All Share Islamic Index at PSX and income tax rebate announcement by FBR for Shariah compliant listed companies.
With a targeted approach to develop Islamic finance talent, State Bank of Pakistan has established 3 Centres for Excellence in Islamic Finance (CEIF) at Institute of Business Administration (Karachi), IMS Sciences (Peshawar) and Lahore University of Management Sciences. This strategy has been highly successful in enhancing the focus on executive learning and academic programs within renowned business schools in 3 major cities of Pakistan.
Established with the objective of carrying out IBA's legacy of providing thought leadership, IBA CEIF aims at providing a world class platform for transfer and enhancement of knowledge in the field of Islamic Finance. Based at the IBA's City Campus, the Centre has strong industry representation through its Board of Management that includes CEOs of major market players and regulators with Dr Ishrat Husain as the Chairman.
Multipronged Approach Towards Addressing HR Demand IBA CEIFhas adopted a multi-pronged approach towards addressing the demand for Islamic finance in the country. It has launchedintensive training programs to hone skill set of practitioners, a degree program to cater to the demand for new professionals and seminars/general awareness sessions to enhance awareness amongst the masses. Additionally, the Centre is focusing on research to stimulate product development and instill global best practices in the local industry.
To align its offerings with the current industry needs, the Centre has established affiliations and strategic relationships with international as well as local financial and infrastructure institutions in a short span of less than 3 years. The Centre has partnered with Meezan Bank for launching training initiatives targeted at industry practitioners. IBA CEIF has entered into collaborations with Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) and International Shariah Research Academy (ISRA) to cooperate in enhancing the objective of research, training and development in the field of Islamic Finance. The Centre has collaboration with International Centre for Islamic Finance Education (INCEIF) as Academic Partner for development of curriculum for MS and PhD Programs, for Faculty Exchange and Student Exchange.
Trainings IBA CEIF has launched a multi-dimensional training program aimed at:
-- building capacity by developing IF talent through knowledge transfer;
-- familiarizing market participants who hold an influencing power in the society such as women, judiciary, media and Imams with IF products; and
-- enhancinggeneral awareness amongst retail customers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs and corporates.
IBA CEIF's training offering can be categorized as follows:
-- Executive Learning Programs (ELPs): After thorough assessment of market needs, CEIF carried out intensive sessions on wide ranging Islamic finance disciplines by world class facilitators. To date, CEIF has trained over 1500 plus participants through over 50 ELPswhich were well received by the market.
-- Practitioners' Qualification Series (PQS):IBA CEIF conducts 6-Month long certification programs on the AAOIFI Shariah Standards and also offers discounts to ACSS students for appearing in AAOIFI's CSAA exams. IBA CEIF has effectively doubled the number of Qualified CSAA holders within Pakistan. Currently third batch of this certification program is in progress.
-- Distinguished Leadership Dialogue (DLD):IBA CEIF has initiated world class forums for practitioners with international speakers from Malaysia, Bahrain, United States, Oman as well as local experts. These dialogues have been highly instrumental in promoting thought provoking debates on key challenges encountered by the industry.
Degree Program in Islamic Banking and Finance MS in Islamic Banking and Finance program was launched by IBA CEIF with an enrollment of 32 students in January 2017. Recently, IBA CEIF entered into an agreement with INCEIF for student exchange, allowingstudents of IBA to take courses at INCEIF, Malaysia and vice versa.
Forums and Seminars IBA CEIF has conducted severalProduct Development and Shariah Compliance Forums, to promote standardization within the industry. The forums were designed keeping into consideration pulse of the market. To name a few, IBA CEIF has organized international conferences on hot topics including "Islamic Finance Opportunities in CPEC and Beyond","Global Business Growth Opportunities in Halaal Markets" and "Fintech and its implications for Islamic Finance Industry". To ensure maximum viewership, the session was live streamed on the internet. Furthermore, IBA CEIF has conducted Round Table sessions with policy makers and key industry stakeholders including awareness seminars with renowned international speakers.
Digital Initiatives Digital Initiatives were launched by IBA CEIF to create an online repository of Islamic finance knowledge imparted by key local and global speakers. IBA CEIF also has a strong presence on social media and its YouTube channel is regularly updated with talks from renowned experts.
Research and Publications Thrust of CEIF is on bridging the gap between academia and industry through facilitating focused research that can be put to practice. CEIF jointly documented Country Report on Pakistan titled "Innovation at Asia's Crossroads" in collaboration with IRTI and Thomson Reuters. A research report on "Diversification of Islamic Instruments" which was a case study on ten countries commissioned by COMCEC Turkey was also conducted. Moreover, the Centre is in the process of developing a book titled "Case Studies in Islamic Finance and Shariah Compliance".
Way Forward It is imperative that the Islamic finance course offering should be enriched across all major universities in the country to reach out to a wider audience. IBA CEIF along with two other Centres of Excellence in Islamic Finance, is playing a pivotal role in this regard through knowledge transfer. Additionally, the Centre is engaged in frequent mass awareness campaigns through social, print and electronic media to familiarize the masses with this asset class and clear misconceptions, if any. To address key challenges faced by the industry, joint research initiatives are being undertaken with local and international bodies.