As part of CIFCA’s strategic international engagements, the Secretary General undertook a visit to the Institute of International Islamic Thought (IIIT) hosted at IIUM Gombak Campus, alongside a dedicated engagement with the IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIiBF).
Earlier in the year, CIFCA had encouraged its stakeholders to enroll in IIIT’s Certificate Course in Islamic Business Management, which recorded notable success with several CIFCA-affiliated participants successfully completing the programme. This created a strong foundation for deeper institutional collaboration.
The physical visit therefore aimed to serve as a strategic continuation of CIFCA's capacity-building agenda, aimed at transforming prior academic linkages into structured institutional partnerships with both IIIT and IIiBF.
Key Objective:
The engagements with IIIT and IIiBF were guided by the following key objectives:
- Operationalization of existing academic linkages through structured collaboration frameworks;
- Exploration of joint capacity-building programmes in Islamic finance, business management, and Shariah-compliant practices;
- Assessment of replicable training models suitable for Tanzania and the broader East African region;
- Establishment of certification pathways jointly recognized by CIFCA and HUM institutions; and
- Strengthening CIFCA’s role as a regional hub for Islamic finance education, advisory, and professional development.
Key output:
Key Outcomes of the Engagement
- Partnership with HIT - Structured Programme Delivery Model
- CIFCA and HIT agreed to formalise collaboration for joint delivery of Islamic business and management programmes in Tanzania and the region
- A hybrid training model was adopted, involving: Use of pre-recorded HIT course materials; Deployment of local subject-matter experts to facilitate in-person guided sessions; and Structured interactive clarification sessions following each module;
- It was agreed that: IDT will initiate internal approval processes (Senate-level endorsement). Upon approval, certification will be jointly issued by HIT and CIFCA; and CIFCA will he permitted to charge token facilitation fees to sustain local expert engagement.
- Strategic Collaboration with HUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IliBF)
- CIFCA and HiBF reached an agreement to collaborate on joint capacity-building across all Islamic finance courses offered by IliBF, including: Islamic banking and finance; Sukuk structuring and capital markets; Takaful and Islamic risk management; and Shariah governance and compliance;
The collaboration will focus on: Localization of IIiBF programmes for the Tanzanian and regional market; Joint delivery frameworks combining IliBF academic excellence with CIFCA's local institutional presence; Professional certification pathways to enhance credibility of Islamic finance practitioners in Tanzania; and Potential co-development of executive training and short courses tailored for regulators, financial institutions, and market participants.
