The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has approved a USD5 million Murabaha Financing Facility to Bank of Maldives to support the Bank’s private sector businesses, particularly SMEs importing raw materials from the international markets.
In a joint statement, BML and ITFC said that the Bank of Maldives is the first partner institution in the Maldives to work with ITFC as it expands its financing outreach to the private sector through local banks in the country.
The financing comes at a critical time as SMEs in the Maldives and other OIC member countries face the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted global trade and strained financial resources.
Commenting on the Murabaha Financing Facility, ITFC CEO Hani Salem Sonbol, said that ITFC is proud to partner with Bank of Maldives in supporting SME growth and the import of raw materials and said that a central tenet of the ITFC strategy is to facilitate lines of financing to local partner financial institutions like Bank of Maldives to provide SME access to working capital that is key for the country’s economic growth and their ability to participate in global value chains.
The financing and grants being rolled out by ITFC, as part of the ISDB Group COVID-19 Response Package, are supporting preparedness for the pandemic through the provision of medical supplies, staple foods, and fertilizer for agricultural production to OIC countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, the Maldives, and Senegal.
The ITFC was established with the primary objective of advancing trade among OIC member countries, which would ultimately contribute to the overarching goal of improving the socio-economic conditions of the people across the world. Commencing operations in January 2008, ITFC has provided more than US$51 billion of financing to OIC member countries, making it the leading provider of trade solutions for these member countries’ needs.
