The Non-Interest Financial Institutions Association of Nigeria

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About NIFIAN

The association behind Nigeria's non-interest finance industry.

We represent the licensed banks, ethical asset managers and takaful operators building a Shariah-compliant financial system inside Africa's largest economy.

Who we are

What is NIFIAN?

NIFIAN — the Non-Interest Financial Institutions Association of Nigeria — is the umbrella industry body for Nigeria's licensed non-interest financial institutions. Its members include non-interest banks, SEC-registered Shariah-compliant fund managers and NAICOM-licensed takaful operators. NIFIAN represents the industry to regulators and policymakers, delivers professional training, and promotes public understanding of ethical, non-interest finance.

We are a membership association, not a company and not a regulator. Our members are institutions, not individuals, and every one of them holds a licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the National Insurance Commission.

What binds them is a single operating principle: money should not earn money on its own. A return has to come from owning an asset, trading a good, leasing equipment, or entering a genuine partnership where both sides carry risk. That principle rules out interest, excessive uncertainty, gambling, and financing for sectors that cause social harm.

It is a demanding way to run a financial institution. It is also, as an industry that grew its banking assets by 110% year-on-year to end-2024 has demonstrated, a commercially serious one.

NIFIAN was founded on the recognition that this industry could not keep negotiating institution by institution. A market of nine licensed operators, four banks, seven sovereign sukuk and a national recapitalisation deadline needs a single, credible, evidence-backed voice. That is the job.

“Non-interest banking or finance is universal. It appeals to all and is not a discriminatory financial product.” Hassan Usman, pioneer President of NIFIAN and former MD/CEO, Jaiz Bank Plc

At a glance

NIFIAN at a glance

The single most common misunderstanding about the association, resolved.

NIFIAN is

  • An industry association owned by its members
  • The industry's representative to CBN, SEC, NAICOM, DMO and the National Assembly
  • A convener of research, training and standards work
  • A source of consolidated, published industry data
  • Open to institutions of any ownership, region or size

NIFIAN is not

  • A bank — it holds no customer deposits
  • A regulator — we have no supervisory or enforcement powers
  • A Shariah authority — we do not issue fatwas or approve products
  • A ratings agency or a guarantor of any member institution
  • A religious organisation, or open only to Muslim-owned firms

Our approach

Mission, vision and values.

01 — Mission

What we exist to do

To create the conditions in which non-interest financial institutions can operate, compete and grow in Nigeria — by shaping policy, raising professional standards, building public understanding, and connecting members to each other and to the world.

02 — Vision

Where we are going

A Nigeria where every adult, in every state, can access finance that matches their values and their circumstances — and where the country is recognised as the leading non-interest finance jurisdiction in Africa.

A Nigerian man in traditional dress with his hands held together

03 — Values

Five values, and what each one costs us

We will not promote a product or a position we cannot defend on the evidence — including when a member would prefer that we did.

Our positions, our data and our sources are published. An industry asking Nigerians to trust a new financial model has to be legible.

Non-interest finance is an ethical proposition, open to Nigerians of every faith and none. We say this publicly and often, because the misconception is expensive.

Our members compete hard for customers. Inside NIFIAN, they work on the problems none of them can solve alone: liquidity, talent, standards and awareness.

Every claim we take to a regulator is backed by research. It is slower. It also works.

Our story

Two decades in the making.

NIFIAN is younger than the industry it represents. This is how Nigeria's non-interest finance market got here — and where the association fits.

2004

Ethical asset management arrives

Lotus Capital Limited is founded, pioneering Shariah-compliant investment management in the Nigerian capital market and later listing three mutual funds on the Nigerian Exchange.

2010

Takaful gets a licence

Cornerstone Takaful — today Hilal Takaful Nigeria Limited — becomes the first composite Takaful Window Operator authorised by NAICOM, opening Nigeria's ethical insurance market.

2011

A regulatory framework

The Central Bank of Nigeria issues its framework for the regulation and supervision of institutions offering non-interest financial services, giving the sector formal legal footing.

2012

Nigeria's first non-interest bank

Jaiz Bank Plc commences operations. It becomes the first Islamic bank anywhere in the world to break even within three years — achieved in a market with almost no Shariah-compliant instruments to invest in.

2014

The window model

Sterling Bank receives provisional approval to run a non-interest banking window, the operation that becomes The Alternative Bank.

2016

Takaful goes public

Noor Takaful convenes a national symposium on the challenges and success factors for takaful in Nigeria, drawing more than 200 delegates from the formal and informal sectors, including regulators.

2017

The sovereign moves

The Federal Government issues Nigeria's debut sovereign sukuk, tying investor returns directly to named road projects. Six further issues follow.

2019

A second full bank

TAJBank secures its licence from the CBN on 3 July and opens on 2 December with pioneering branches in Abuja and Kano.

Governance

Who runs NIFIAN.

NIFIAN is governed by its members. Every member institution has a vote at the Annual General Meeting, which elects an Executive Committee from among the chief executives of member firms. The Executive Committee serves a fixed term, sets the association's agenda, and is accountable to the membership. Day-to-day operations sit with the Secretariat.

Mrs. Hajara Adeola, President of NIFIAN
President

Mrs. Hajara Adeola

Managing Director and Chief Executive, Lotus Capital Limited; founder of LOTUS Bank. A pioneer of Shariah-compliant investment management in Nigeria and one of the architects of the country's ethical capital market.

Basheer Oshodi, Vice-President of NIFIAN
Vice-President

Basheer Oshodi

Leads one of Nigeria's SEC-registered ethical investment managers, with a focus on bringing non-interest products to retail and institutional investors.

Akeem Oyewale, Executive Committee member of NIFIAN
Committee Member

Akeem Oyewale

Chief Executive of Marble Capital Limited, a SEC-licensed Shariah-compliant fund manager and member of the Islamic Financial Services Board.

Portraits and titles are taken from NIFIAN's current published Executive Committee listing. Confirm the committee is current before launch

How we are governed

Every member institution in good standing has one vote. The AGM approves the accounts, sets the subscription rates, elects the Executive Committee and ratifies changes to the constitution.

Drawn from the chief executives of member institutions and elected at the AGM. It sets the annual agenda, approves the advocacy positions NIFIAN takes to regulators, and admits new members on the Secretariat's recommendation.

Standing groups do the detailed work between meetings: Regulatory & Policy, Shariah Governance & Standards, Liquidity & Product Development, Capacity Building, and Public Awareness. Member staff — not just chief executives — sit on these, which is where most of the value of membership is actually realised.

The permanent office. It runs the research programme, coordinates the working groups, manages member services, handles media enquiries and maintains the association's data.

Who we work with

The institutions that shape this market.

NIFIAN's advocacy is only as good as its relationships. We engage continuously with the bodies that license, supervise and fund Nigeria's non-interest finance sector.

BodyRole in non-interest finance
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)Licenses and supervises non-interest banks; sets the non-interest banking framework, capital requirements and Shariah-compliant liquidity instruments. Its Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE) sets the national Shariah position for banking.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)Registers Shariah-compliant fund managers and approves non-interest capital market products, including corporate sukuk and ethical mutual funds.
National Insurance Commission (NAICOM)Licenses and supervises takaful operators across family and general business lines.
Debt Management Office (DMO)Structures and issues the Federal Government's sovereign sukuk programme.
Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC)Operates the non-interest deposit insurance scheme protecting depositors at non-interest banks.
Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX)Lists sovereign and corporate sukuk and Shariah-compliant funds, and maintains Islamic market indices.

Standards

Local practice, global standards.

A Nigerian murabaha has to mean what a Malaysian or Bahraini murabaha means. Without that, international investors cannot price Nigerian sukuk, correspondent banks cannot process Nigerian transactions, and Nigerian institutions cannot be benchmarked against their peers.

So NIFIAN's standards work runs in two directions. Domestically, we help members converge on consistent contract structures, disclosure practice and Shariah audit methodology. Internationally, we align that practice with the frameworks that set the global bar:

  • AAOIFI — the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, whose Shariah, accounting, auditing and governance standards define global practice.
  • IFSB — the Islamic Financial Services Board, which issues prudential and supervisory standards for Islamic banking, capital markets and takaful. Member institutions including Marble Capital hold IFSB membership, and the IFSB has worked directly with NAICOM on strengthening Nigeria's takaful framework.
  • IsDB and ICD — the Islamic Development Bank and its private-sector arm, key sources of development capital and technical assistance for African markets.
  • AICIF — the Association of Islamic Capital and Islamic Finance, a network of African and Asian industry bodies.

Shariah governance harmonisation

Consistent practice across all member institutions.

Contract-level standardisation

Murabaha, ijara, mudarabah, musharakah and wakala documented the same way at every member.

AAOIFI-aligned disclosure

Reporting and audit practice benchmarked to the global standard.

Shared data definitions

So members' numbers can actually be compared.

FAQ

About NIFIAN — common questions

NIFIAN stands for the Non-Interest Financial Institutions Association of Nigeria. It is the industry association representing licensed non-interest financial institutions in Nigeria, including non-interest banks, Shariah-compliant fund managers and takaful operators.

NIFIAN was established in 2021, when Nigeria's non-interest financial institutions came together to form a single industry body and elected Hassan Usman, then Managing Director of Jaiz Bank Plc, as its pioneer President. Exact date: verify with the Secretariat

No. NIFIAN is a membership association with no supervisory or enforcement powers. Non-interest banks are regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Shariah-compliant fund managers by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and takaful operators by the National Insurance Commission. NIFIAN represents its members to those regulators.

No. Shariah rulings for individual institutions are issued by each institution's own Advisory Committee of Experts, and the national position for banking is set by the CBN's Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts. NIFIAN's role is to help members converge on consistent practice, not to rule on it.

Membership is open to institutions licensed by the CBN, SEC or NAICOM to offer non-interest financial services in Nigeria, and — through associate categories — to fintechs, professional advisory firms and qualified individuals working in the sector. Full detail is on the Join NIFIAN page.

Represent your institution at the table.

NIFIAN membership is open to every licensed non-interest financial institution in Nigeria, and to the fintechs, advisory firms and professionals who serve them.

Apply for membership See what we do