Maghreb: BMICE and IsDB Institute sign agreement to establish Islamic window

The IsDB Institute and the BMICE signed a grant agreement on August 12, 2026, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to support the creation of an Islamic window within the BMICE, as reported by Africa Newsroom (APO). The grant amount was not specified in the announcement. The agreement provides for technical assistance from the IsDB Institute to develop the institutional, regulatory, operational, and capacity-building requirements necessary for launching and operating this window, in accordance with international Islamic finance standards. The Institute will assist the BMICE in strengthening its human capital, designing Sharia-compliant products and processes, and addressing legal and regulatory aspects related to this new activity. For the BMICE, a regional bank created in 1991 by the Arab Maghreb Union countries to finance intra-regional trade and investment, opening an Islamic window broadens the financing options available to businesses and entrepreneurs in the region, amid growing demand for Sharia-compliant banking solutions across the five Maghreb countries. This operation is part of the strategy of the Jeddah-based IsDB Group, which has been expanding partnerships with regional financial institutions in its member countries for several years to spread Islamic finance frameworks. It also reflects a regional dynamic where the Maghreb, long lagging behind the Gulf and Southeast Asia in Islamic finance, seeks to bridge this gap through existing multilateral institutions rather than creating new dedicated banks, a cheaper and faster approach to deploy.