Business

Ooni Of Ife Lauds TAJBank’s Partnership With AIFC

Published

8 months ago

March 3, 2025

Ibrahim Lawal

His Royal Majesty Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, has commended TAJBank Nigeria for its partnership with Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Kazakhstan, to promote non-interest banking, boost Nigeria’s merchandize trade with Asian countries, and improve the country’s foreign exchange (FX) earnings.

The foremost traditional ruler in Yorubaland lauded the TAJBank’s management on the collaboration during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja, which formalizes the framework between the two partners to leverage the opportunities of non-interest banking for the benefits of Nigerians, Asians and their businesses.

The royal father, who recalled TAJBank’s remarkable efforts to deepen financial inclusion through the non-interest banking model in the country over the past few years, said:

“I believe this MoU between TAJBank and AIFC is another initiative that I strongly feel will foster export ties between Nigeria and Kazakhstan.

“We look forward to better international trade involving cocoa and other commodities as I hear that you have the best chocolates in Kazakhstan”, Oba Ogunwusi added.

Specifically, the MOU aims to promote and develop non-interest banking products and services within Nigeria, adhering to Islamic financial principles, streamline and secure the management of export proceeds, particularly of agricultural commodities such as cocoa, exploring innovative financial instruments and mechanisms to strengthen trade finance and provide robust support to Nigerian exporters.

In addition, the deal seeks to fortify trade relationships between Nigeria and Kazakhstan, as well as other Central Asian nations, by identifying and pursuing opportunities for joint ventures, strategic investments, and enhanced trade financing to drive economic cooperation.

Commenting on the deal, TAJBank’s Founder/Managing Director, Hamid Joda, enthused: “This is another landmark deal in our sustained drive to demonstrate to Nigerians that TAJBank is totally committed to support their businesses irrespective of the location.

“We are excited to have our Royal Father, the Ooni of Ife here at this event, which is a clear demonstration of his endorsement of our partnership with the AIFC. I assure all our customers and potential ones that TAJbank will continue to do its best to support them with world-class non-interest banking products and services”, Joda added.

In his brief remarks on the pact, AIFC’s Director, Yernar Zhanadil, said: “Your Majesty, the Islamic market in Kazakhstan is untapped; the market has over eight million users. We can issue Ijara or Sukuk using Nigeria’s model. It has so much potential.

With the Ooni’s involvement and TAJBank, I am even surer of the immense benefits of the MoU for bank customers and the economies of the two countries.”

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Business

TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank

Published

1 week ago

October 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.

Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.

The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.

According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.

This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.

Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.

“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.

“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.

“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.

Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”

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