London - The 7th Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) are scheduled to be held at the Kazakhstan capital city of Astana on September 6, 2017. The Awards Ceremony will be hosted by Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), and is expected to be attended by His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan. Islamic bankers and other stakeholders from the global Islamic financial services industry will congregate in Astana to participate in the most prestigious celebration of success stories in Islamic banking and finance.
A head of state or government is honoured every year with Global Islamic Finance Leadership Award. Last year, the recipient of this top award was His Excellency Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, who was crowned as the 6th GIFA Laureate at an Awards Ceremony held in Jakarta. “This year, we shall once again honour a head of state from a country within the OIC block for his utmost support for Islamic banking and finance in his country,” said Professor Humayon Dar, Chairman of the Global Islamic Finance Awards.
Out of the six previous awards ceremonies, two were held in Dubai in 2013 and 2014. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, witnessed the Awards Ceremony in 2014, when H. E. Nursultan Nazarbayev was honoured as the 4th GIFA Laureate.
The UAE has featured significantly in the previous awards ceremonies. Last year, Dubai Islamic Bank received the prestigious GIFA Market Leadership Award 2016 for its pioneering role in developing Islamic banking and finance globally. “We are honoured to receive this recognition; winning the [GIFA Market Leadership] Award is testimony to the fact that we continue to remain the most progressive Islamic financial institution in the world,” said Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank on the occasion.
There are over 50 categories of awards for which nominations are open. GIFA are the most comprehensive Islamic finance awards programme, covering Islamic banking, asset management, consultancy and advisory companies, legal practices, support institutions and the institutions offering academic and professional qualifications in the areas related with Islamic banking and finance. Every year, the GIFA Awards Committee recognised institutions and individuals from around the world for their exceptional contributions to the development of Islamic banking and finance.
The GIFA Methodology is the most rigorous, based on a proprietary methodology developed by Edbiz Corporation, a London-based Islamic advisory group. “We are recognised as the Number One Islamic finance awards programme for the rigour and authenticity of our approach, transparency of our nomination processes nominations and selection of winners, including the quality of our winners,” said Dr. Sofiza Azmi, CEO of Edbiz Corporation.
The institutions and individuals wishing to submit their nominations are encouraged to apply as soon as possible but no later than July 15, 2017. “As our decision-making is very rigorous and at times may take more time than usual, I would recommend to submit nominations as early as possible,” said Khuram Shehzad, Head of Nominations at GIFA.
About Edbiz Corporation:
Edbiz Corporation is a global Islamic finance think tank, headquartered in London.
For more information, please visit: www.edbizconsulting.com. Edbiz Corporation provides multiple services that balance the dual purpose of developing thought leadership in this niche industry and strengthening the Islamic finance capacity for businesses and banks. Its client base is diverse and includes financial institutions, governments, education providers, established businesses and entrepreneurs.
© Press Release 2017
