Noor Takaful mulls capital market listing

One of Nigeria’s Islamic finance operators, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, has revealed it is considering listing on the capital market.

This was disclosed by the Vice Chairman of the firm, Aminu Tukur, on the sidelines of the just concluded African Takaful and Non-Interest Finance Conference, organised by Noor Takaful Insurance Limited in Lagos.

Tukur pointed out that given the benefits of non-interest financing, listing such entities would deepen the capital market.

He said, “Clearly, there is a need for more organisations to be listed on the Nigerian stock exchange. Today, the only non-interest institution is Jaiz Bank. Under Takaful, we have about six to seven Takaful operators, none of us are listed. So there is an opportunity and there is that need as well to deepen liquidity in the market.

“This is something that we as a board at Noor Takaful are discussing and very soon by God’s grace, we and other Takaful operators and other non-interest financial institutions will be looking at.”

Speaking on the conference theme, ‘Islamic Finance and Takaful: Building Resilience in a Volatile World,’ Tukur said, “One of the reasons we decided to host the African Takaful Finance conference is because we feel that the alternative finance provides a fairer alternative.

“We are not saying that the conventional doesn’t work, we are saying that with the Takaful alternative, there is more transparency, accountability, and an ethical approach to things. It is not just about making money and reporting profit at the end of the year but carrying everybody along.

“Over the years, we have been making a lot of steps and we are never going back. Noor Takaful over the past seven years has been able to have about 15,000 participants, paid over N9bn in claims…timely claims. Under the Takaful model, you get your claims on time and that has had a lot of impact on individuals and businesses.”

Echoing similar sentiment in his welcome address, the Chairman of Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Muhtar Bakare, explained that non-interest finance and Takaful have become the most tenable, time-tested, and culturally appropriate catalysts for change in Africa at a time when conventional finance has fallen short of meeting people’s basic needs.

Bakare said takaful and non-interest finance, which are rooted in the principles of solidarity, trust, equity, and risk sharing, remain the best models as they align seamlessly with the teachings of all three Abrahamic faiths and with the communal ethos of African societies.

According to him, Takaful presents alternative channels of financial mediation based on universally accepted principles that can accelerate financial inclusion well beyond Muslim communities. He stated that the company was already providing access to affordable capital in underserved communities, catalysing the accumulation of savings, while encouraging prudent ethical investment.

“Our governance structure compels us to deliver services that are aligned with the aspirations of our host communities and to engage everyone with integrity, transparency, and respect. We’re not just profit-maximising enterprises, we’re collaborative endeavours by all stakeholders working together to make our communities more just and equitable,” he said.

One of the speakers at the event, Managing Director of Cardinalstone Real Assets Limited, Mohammed Garuba, highlighted the risk-sharing benefits of non-interest financing saying, “One of the key pillars of Islamic finance is risk sharing and what it does is that unlike conventional finance where the pressure is on one party, the beauty of Islamic finance is that I want to share in your risks and returns in the investment journey.

“It removes the pressure and makes me an active partner. I don’t just give you money and walk away. I get involved in the whole process so that when you make money, we share in the profit, if you make a loss, we also share in the loss.”