UNDP and Participation Banks Association of Turkey Signed an MoU to Join Forces

UNDP IICPSD and TKBB partnered to collaborate on utilizing Islamic Finance for the effective implementation and achievement of the SDGs.

Istanbul, February 25 TheUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) and the Participation Banks Association of Turkey (TKBB), which is operating in the banking and finance industry,  partnered to collaborate on utilizing Islamic Finance for the effective implementation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

One of UNDP’s global thematic policy Centers, UNDP IICPSD has been leading UNDP’s Private Sector and Foundations Strategy for the SDGs, which aims to enable the private sector to become transformative partners in the new global agenda. TKBB aims to develop the participation banking sector in Turkey in a sustainable manner and expand the reach of Islamic finance products and services globally. UNDP and TKBB signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a partnership which will focus on scaling-up ongoing initiatives and exploring new opportunities to collaborate for the effective realization of the SDGs via contribution from the Islamic finance industry.

Through this partnership UNDP IICPSD and TKBB affirmed their commitment to cooperate to raise awareness on the compatibility of Islamic finance and impact investing and their capacity to increase the role of Islamic finance in sustainable development. This collaboration to build bridges between Islamic finance and impact investing will include identifying best practices, knowledge products, tools, data and know-how in the Islamic finance and impact investing industry as well as supporting the development of Islamic finance in new markets. UNDP IICPSD and TKBB will be facilitating a triangular cooperation to exchange information, expertise and technical know-how on Islamic finance, to contribute to the development of the sector in emerging countries.

On this occasion the Secretary General of TKBB, Mr. Osman Akyüz stated: “We highly appreciate the guidance and support of UNDP IICPSD for enabling us to create awareness in Turkey for the interaction of Islamic finance and impact investing. We are pleased to cooperate with UNDP IICPSD to share accumulated know-how and expertise with emerging countries that are at the phase of development of the Islamic finance industry in their respective jurisdictions. We believe that these engagements will increase the penetration of the Islamic finance system globally. As TKBB, we position ourselves with the responsibility of contributing to the implementation activities of SDGs with the empowerment of the Turkish participation banking experience.  We hope that the coordination with UNDP IICPSD team will act as a catalyzer for creating a balanced industry with modelling best practices of each country to have more harmonized performance results among the members of the Islamic finance industry.”

Mr. Sahba Sobhani, Director of IICPSD affirmed: “We are delighted to announce this partnership between UNDP’s Global Center for the Private Sector and Participation Banks Association of Turkey. Through this partnership, we aim to contribute to the promotion of sustainable development by harnessing Islamic finance and impact investing. The role of TKBB is significant for the development of Islamic finance in Turkey and globally, and we are pleased to support their further endeavors and collaborate on the effective implementation and achievement of the SDGs.”

This partnership will also cover the potential activities to be organized under the Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform (GIFIIP), through a training programme on Islamic finance and impact investing. The platform was established by the UNDP IICPSD and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) aiming to position Islamic finance and impact investing as leading enablers of SDG implementation through private sector engagement.

About TKBB

Participation Banks Association of Turkey (TKBB) is a professional public institution established in 2001 with a mandate to represent the participation banking sector both nationally and internationally, support the development of participation banking in Turkey, contribute to the efforts of raising the sector’s market share, develop professional principles and standards, and protect the rights and interests of participation banks. Based in Istanbul and established in accordance with the Banking Act, the TKBB has six participation bank members as of March 2021.

About IICPSD

UNDP’s Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD), supports the private sector and foundations to become transformative partners in development. The Center was established in 2011 in partnership with the Government of Turkey. The Center’s work to engage the private sector focuses on four thematic areas: Inclusive Business; Private Sector Engagement in Skills Development; Impact Investing; and Resilience and Crisis Response.

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