Unlock Business Growth: Leveraging Islamic Banking in Nigeria (No Faith Required!)

Hello and welcome to the show. Taking today's recording at my desk and hopefully we're not going to have too many interruptions today. Now, this is your first time of listening to the podcast. The goal of this podcast is business education. So if you get any value from it by the time you're done, please share, promote, and talk about the podcast so that your friends and family members in Nigeria and abroad can benefit from the questions that we tackle.

They can do that by subscribing on Spotify, YouTube, Apple or any player of their choice. And if you have any sales and marketing questions, then bring them to me. You can call, you can SMS, you can WhatsApp me on 08064662140. And some of you have been reaching out asking for finances, you know, funds, financial help. And unfortunately that is not the kind of service that I provide. You know, I'm not a bank and I'm not a charity, but I will try and make a list of those kinds of organisations so that those of you who are in dire straits to reach out, I should be able to send you some place else.

But just to let you know, the reason why my phone number is here is not because I'm giving out arms. I'm not giving out charity. I'm not an NGO. So if you have sales and marketing questions, you have a business. The business has some genuine problems that you need some help with. Reach out to me. Let's see how we can make things happen now. Speaking of finance, since in yesterday's episode we looked at different opportunities that are available for people who want to start businesses in pharmacy or grow a chemist business, you know, that sort of thing.

I mentioned something about Islamic banking or non interest financing. So I just want to talk a little bit more about that today because also on the radio show, you know, there are people who call in and say, oh, you know that non Islamic thing, you know, can you give me some more information? So that's what we're going to do briefly today. Now normally in the past I would call the name of banks and I think yesterday I said Sterling Bank has non sorry non interest financing and Islamic finance.

They have a, a, what do I call department of the bank or they offer those kinds of products and then Taj Bank and then things like that. But going forward, I'm not going to be calling specific bank names anymore. I don't want to give the impression that I am advertising for some banks, or that I am affiliated with some banks, or that I am promoting some banks to the detriment of others. So from now on, I will not be making any recommendations.

I don't want to seem to be partial. I don't want to share any preference. I don't want to give free advertising, and I don't want to exercise on due influence because there's some of you who take what I say pretty seriously. So I don't want you guys to just run off to Sterling and Taj, assuming that that's where the best options are, even though there are other options available in other banks. So the solution, just in case you are curious is use Google and use ChatGPT.

And here are some key terms that you can use. You can search Nigerian banks, you can search non interest banking, you can search Islamic banking, You can also search low interest banking. And you will see a bunch of options come up and then start doing your research from there. So just run those Google search, use Gemini, use chat, DPT, use whatever it is you like to do and then see what comes up. But I will mention this though,

not all businesses can take advantage of non interest financing or Islamic finance. The reason why I'm mentioning that is because I mentioned in the last episode and I mentioned in, you know, all the episodes that you don't have to be a Muslim to take advantage of this kind of financing. The reason why I bring this up is because sometimes when I'm on the air on the radio show and somebody calls, you know, they say, oh, I'm Pentecostal, I'm this, you know, blah, blah,

blah. You know, can I take advantage of that kind of financing? And excuse me, you don't have to be a Muslim to take advantage of that kind of finance. So, but however, since the businesses that they finance are determined by Sharia law or by Islamic ethical preferences, there are certain kinds of businesses that non interest financing or Islamic finance products, you know will not work with. So that's what we're going to explore today.

So the first one, non interest financing, obviously they are not going to invest in any business that itself charges interest. So if you do POS, I'm not sure, but I'm guessing POS business, they will not cover banking business, you know, they will not cover money lending. They will not cover, they will not work with money lending because that's just the state of Islamic jurisprudence at the moment that interest is bad.

They will not charge interest. So they are not going to work with any business that is charging interest. So POS banking, money lending, you cannot take advantage of non interest financing. They will not give you money because you are charging, sorry, charging interest. Then there are some businesses that are there are certain things that are Haram. And of course, while Lizos was living in Nigeria, we know that Haram means forbidden.

So just in case you know, I'm wrong, if there are any Muslims listening to this podcast, you know, just let me know. But you know, just from watching normal everyday TV, you know, you hear sometimes bandied about. And so the opinion, Abby, no, not the opinion. The impression that I get is that Haram means forbidding. So if you are engaged in any businesses that are Haram or forbidden under Islamic jurisprudence, you are not going to be able to take advantage of non interest financing.

So if you do business in alcohol, you like boys to get high, you like boys, you know, shallow and all of that, you will not be able to take advantage of this kind of financing. If you do business in pork, you will not be able to take advantage of this kind of financing. If you do gambling on sport bets, you know sport bets, people bet Niger this bet that bet you know discuss. You know that casino Nope, you guys will not be able to take advantage of this kind of financing.

If you are engaged in adult entertainment, whether you're an actor or whether you are a distributor, you will not be able to take advantage of this kind of financing. If you have one of those, you know, gentlemen establishments in Abuja or in Lagos where you know, ladies come and dance and you know, you understand you will not be able to take advantage of this kind of financing, then human trafficking, if you engage in human trafficking, you'll be able to take advantage of this kind of financing.

Now, some of you will say human trafficking as in from where, But you know, it's one of these questions that is unsettled. Well, not yet settled as in it's still up for debate. So even though people are not going around selling slaves anymore, the, the coalition on human trafficking and certain organisations like in the Islamic faith and then even in the Catholic Church and different kinds of charities, they say that human trafficking is still alive and well.

The reason why I'm bringing it up is because there are some of you in Lagos in particular, or you know, in that part of the world who have agencies in quote where you go and you get young ladies from let's say Republic of Benin or whatever. And then you bring them to Lagos so that they can be housegirls for other people. Or you go to your village and get other people and bring them to the city, whether it's in Makudi or Kaduna or Abuja or Port Arkad or whatever so that they can be housegirls for people.

So there are some organizations today who say that even though, excuse me, slavery is no longer with us in quote, that these sorts of practices that seem to take advantage of people's poverty, people's illiteracy, and, you know, stuff like that can amount to human trafficking. So just letting you know that if you have one of those agencies, because they're called agencies where you provide domestic help, you know, blah, blah, blah, it might let me just let you.

I'm just letting you know that there are some organisations who might consider what you do to be human trafficking. I mean, of course, depending on how you conduct your business, so just letting you know that it has a kind of agency in quote that you run, you know, there might be some question mark on whether you'll be able to take advantage of non interest and Islamic financing. Then of course they are not going to finance any business that involves speculation.

So those of you who are forex Bros or forex babes, nothing for you. You can't take advantage of that. Crypto brews, crypto babes, you know nothing for you then let's see what else. OK, so now that I've told you guys, the bad businesses, or rather the businesses that they won't put their hand in, then the question now becomes what kind of business will they now put their hand in? And that is going to be obviously good business as determined by Islamic jurisprudence or Islamic finance or Islamic, you know, you get the picture.

So anybody who is involved in trade on commerce, you're doing buying and selling. You're buying and selling stationary, you have a shot. You're buying and selling shrink on, you have a shot. You're buying and selling computer accessories, you have a shot. You're buying and selling air conditioner, you have a shot. You know, is it trade and commerce, You have a shot. Go in, ask to go into the bank, ask to speak to the people in the sales and marketing departments.

Don't ask for customer service because customer service is always crowded. Any bank you enter, once you get to customer service section, I'm talking about Nigerian banks, customer service is full because people have complaints, they can't, don't want to do all kinds of things. So go and ask to speak to sales or marketing department. Those people, they are free, they have time and they're looking for who to talk to. They will be glad to talk to you to talk about the different products that they have for Islamic finance and how we can apply to your business.

So are you a trader? You're engaged in commerce, you're selling rice, you're selling TV, you're selling solar panels, you're selling anything, just you're selling tractor. Go, go and talk to them then. If you're on the manufacturing business, they will get involved in that. Let's see, what else? Agricultural business. I was surprised. There actually was a caller to the show who told me about agriculture. I did some research and I've seen that some of the banks have agricultural finance as well.

So you're involved in agriculture then? Yeah, they will get involved in that. Real estate leasing. Leasing is when you're lending or borrowing something, Textile and fashion, education and healthcare, you know, lots of businesses. But what I would just say is if you did not hear your business on this harem list, on the forbidding list, I think you stand a chance. Just go ahead and remember when you get to the bank, don't go to customer service.

I'm telling you now, customer service, UEQ and queue and queue. You waste your time, ask to speak to somebody in sales or marketing department, somebody will come and see you. Sharp, sharp, 3 minutes, 5 minutes will come and see you and you have a very fruitful conversation because they have these products, they're looking for customers and they're looking for who to talk to. So yeah, that's it. Now Please remember, even though I have mentioned Taj Bank and Sterling Bank in the past, I am not recommending them.

I am not affiliated to them and and I am not giving them as preferential options. To be honest the only reason why I remember Taj is because I drive past Taj at least once a week. That's why I remember them. They stick in my head. And the reason why I remember Sterling Bank is because in my wedding photography days when I wanted to take advantage of non interest financing, I went into the bank. I can't remember how I found out anyway, but I went into the bank because I was curious and they confirmed that they have those products.

And I did speak to somebody in sales and marketing and we explored a number of products, but there was nothing that would cover the kind of financing that I was looking for at the time. So I'm not saying that the best. I'm not saying that the only ones, to be honest, I only remember them because Taj. I drive past Taj once a week. Sterling, I went into Sterling to go and ask for myself. But go and do your research, go on Google, go on Gemini, go on ChatGPT, go on copilot, go and Bing, go and whatever.

And when you get them, ask to speak to someone in sales and marketing department because customer service is always busy. So that is all for today. So let me look at my list. Yeah, that's all for today. So if you have any questions in sales that are related to sales and marketing or problems in your business, bring them to me. You can call, you can SMS, you can WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Thank you very much for your time and attention.

I catch you to your listener at the next episode. And one more time please. If you are having financial woes, financial troubles, I understand and to be honest, I feel bad for you and you know you are. My prayers for those of you who are going through very tough times. But I am not an NGO. I do not run a charity. I will chat with you and I will talk with you. I'll help you solve some of your business problems. But I am doing this for profit.

Of course, I'm willing to help a couple of people because I want to pay things forward. But if your major problem is you're working as a driver, your income is not enough, you don't know what else to do, You're a hard worker, but you need help. I cannot help you. That is not what I do. But I will start compiling a list so that for those people who still reach out, I'll be able to say, call this organization, call this organization, call this organization.

But for you now, the person who's listening right now, you're in a very tough spot. You have just finished your nursing degree. You cannot get a nursing job. You do not know what else to do. I can't help you. That is not my area of speciality. I did not study that. I have no skills in that. I do not research that. I don't have any contacts, any contacts in that field. You know, I can't help you, but genuine business problems.

Your business is chugging along. You're not attracting customers. The customers you're attracting are not the right kind of customers. Or you're speaking to people, you think they're the right kind of customers, but you can't close the deal. Or you're closing the deal, but everybody's pricing. You like groundnut. You, you want to move away from the groundnut pricing. You want to enter into the premium market or you want to explore international markets,

you know, export or something like that. You don't know how to get in touch with it. So any problem that is related to sales, I want to find a customer. I want to find my customers. I want to attract my customers. I want to build relationships with my customers. I want to flow with my customers. I want people to like me. I want my bank account as well. Those kinds of problems. Yeah, hit me up and I'll do my best and I'll see how I can help.

So thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you, dear listener, at the next episode.