The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has approved a USD 5 million Murabaha Financing Facility for Bank of Maldives (BML).
The financing facility has been provided to support BML’s private sector businesses, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) importing raw materials from the international markets. BML 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.
BML stated the financing comes at a critical time as SMEs in the Maldives and other Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries face the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted global trade and strained financial resources. CEO and Managing Director of BML Tim Sawyer noted the facility will help make a positive contribution to the development of the local business sector.
Commenting on the Murabaha Financing Facility, CEO of ITFC Hani Salem Sonbol expressed ITFC is proud to partner with BML in supporting SME growth and the import of raw materials. He noted a central tenet of the ITFC strategy is to facilitate lines of financing to local partner financial institutions like BML to provide SME access to working capital that is key for the country’s economic growth and the ability to participate in global value chains. As such, he noted it is contributing to the development of intra-OIC trade flows and ultimately leading to socioeconomic development in member countries.
ITFC a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. 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.