Local News
Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank Appoints Independent Shariah Supervisory Board in Latest Governance Step
The state development bank has named a board of Somali and international Islamic finance scholars to oversee compliance across its products and investments, part of a year of measures to build up the institution's governance as it expands its role in financing national reconstruction.
MOGADISHU (SONNA): The Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank (SDRB) has announced the appointment of an independent Shariah Supervisory Board by its Board of Directors, a further step in a series of governance measures the state development bank has undertaken over the past year to strengthen its institutions and operations.
The appointment follows the establishment of the bank's Board of Directors and forms part of a wider effort to build up SDRB's governance framework as it develops into a functioning instrument of national development finance. A government-owned institution first established in 1968 and reconstituted after decades of disruption, SDRB is mandated to finance development and reconstruction across the country rather than to provide commercial banking services, a role that has grown in significance as Somalia rebuilds its public institutions and seeks to mobilise domestic and international investment.
The new board will oversee the bank's adherence to Islamic legal and ethical principles across its financial products, contracts and investments, ensuring that SDRB's instruments are structured in compliance with Shariah. The bank said the board will also contribute to the development of new financial products as it expands its offering.
The board brings together internationally recognised scholars in Islamic finance alongside Somali expertise. Its three members combine advisory experience with leading global institutions and direct involvement in the drafting of Somalia's own recent financial legislation.
Professor Dr. Rusni Hassan, a Malaysian national, is Dean of the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance at the International Islamic University of Malaysia and brings more than three decades of experience in Shariah advisory and governance. A former member of the Shariah Advisory Council at the Central Bank of Malaysia, she has chaired Shariah committees at leading Islamic banks and worked with development finance institutions in the region.
Professor Dr. Younes Soualhi, an Algerian national, is a Senior Research Fellow at the ISRA Institute of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, with expertise in Islamic insurance, capital markets and objectives-driven finance. He has advised international financial institutions and contributed to the development of Somalia's Insurance Law of 2025, the first legislation of its kind in the country.
Professor Dr. Mohamed Hussein Isse, a Somali national, is a tenured Professor of Shariah and Law at Mogadishu University and Vice President of the Union of Somali Scholars. He played a notable part in aligning Somalia's amended Financial Institutions Law of 2025 with Shariah principles, and brings local scholarly authority that connects classical jurisprudence with contemporary governance.
The Director of Investments and Project Implementation at SDRB, Jibril Adan, said the members are scholars working at the frontiers of the global Islamic banking sector and that their guidance would strengthen the bank's financial instruments and support the design of Shariah-compliant products responsive to demand.
The bank described the appointment as an important step in implementing its founding Charter of 2014 and in meeting the requirements of the country's financial regulatory framework. Islamic finance is the foundation of Somalia's banking sector, with the country's commercial banks operating under Shariah-compliant models, and the strengthening of governance at the state development bank aligns the institution with both national practice and international standards in the field.
