Al Baraka bank aims to create 51,000 jobs

Al Baraka Banking Group aims to lend $635 million to the education and healthcare sectors between 2016 and 2020.

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group aims to create 51,000 jobs in healthcare and education through responsible lending as sustainability and socially responsible lending are at the heart of the Islamic finance industry, its top official said.

"We like to see growth in employment in healthcare and education sectors. Within 5 years, our goal is to create 51,000 jobs through financing we are providing," said Adnan Ahmed Yousif, president and CEO of Al Baraka Banking Group.

"We have amended the application a couple of years ago for financing and ask the companies how many jobs you are going to create through this financing. In 2016-17, we were able to achieve the target," he added.

Al Baraka Banking Group aims to lend $635 million to the education and healthcare sectors between 2016 and 2020, the president pointed out during a panel discussion at the World Islamic Banking Conference.

"We are looking to have Bahrain as a centre for sustainable lending and we would like to put recommendation from this conference that Bahrain should be named the centre for sustainability. banks should have sustainability and responsible lending in their goals," he added.

Hasan Al Jabri, CEO of Sedco Holding of Saudi Arabia, said sustainability is at the heart of Islamic finance and the group is investing not just in the Islamic world but internationally as well.

"Islamic finance is empowering investors and companies to run their business more ethically and in a socially responsible way," he said. "When we are investing, we want to make sure that company is not using child labour or not using contents in their products that are harmful."

- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com