The President of the Republic of Senegal, His Excellency Mr. Macky Sall, was honored in Dakar on September 14, 2023, by receiving the prestigious Global Leadership Award in Islamic Finance. This award, created in 2011 by the British firm Edbiz Corporation, specializing in Islamic finance, aims to reward innovation, success, strategy, and progressive changes within the global Islamic financial community. The Senegalese Head of State received this award at the 13th edition of the Global Summit on Islamic Finance.

President Macky Sall is lauded through this award for his contribution to Islamic banking, financial, and commercial mechanisms, which have become integrated systems within the international financial architecture.

As a regional leader in Islamic finance in the WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) zone, Senegal has several programs and initiatives to its credit, including the Program for the Development of Islamic Microfinance in Senegal (Promise), the Support Project for the Development of Female Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment (PADEF EJ), the High Authority of Waqf (HAW), and the Literacy and Skills Learning Program for Poverty Alleviation (PALAM). These inititiaves aim to support social and economic development. For example, Promise, created with the Islamic Development Bank's (IsDB) support, offers innovative financing mechanisms for young people, women, and SMEs. It also contributes to promoting Islamic financial culture within the Senegalese population.

Furthermore, this award comes at a time when Senegal is preparing to exploit its oil and gas resources, thus opening new opportunities for Islamic finance in the country. This finance offers funding opportunities for projects such as renewable energies, energy efficiency, exploration and production of power, as well as energy infrastructures.

It's worth noting that before President Macky Sall, this prestigious award had been bestowed upon other personalities around the world. Among the winners of this international recognition are:

• H.E. Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti;
• H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia;
• His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano, Nigeria;
• H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev, former President of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• H.E. Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan;
• HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak, Malaysia;
• H.E. Tun Abdullah Badawi, former Prime Minister of Malaysia.

This recognition attests to the growing importance of Islamic finance in the global financial landscape and Senegal's commitment to this form of ethical and inclusive financing.

IF NEWS