Azzad Asset Management announces new offerings for African customers

Azzad Asset Management of Falls Church, Va., expanded its offerings Tuesday with ethical trade financial opportunities for Asian and African clients through its Azzad Wise Capital Fund.

It is estimated that the unmet demand for trade finance in Africa carries a price tag of between $110 and $120 billion.

The majority of the fund is made up of sukuk and community development bank investments. Deals for this fund are being overseen by financial advisors from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), an offshoot of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

The ITFC is committed to helping its investors find more trade finance opportunities and protecting them against unreasonably high interest rates or fraud.

"A lack of reasonable trade financing results in huge missed opportunities to leverage the power of trade for growth and development," Azzad Vice President and portfolio manager Jamal Elbarmil said. "Providing affordable trade finance can unlock the trading potential of millions of individuals and small businesses in under served parts of Asia and Africa. In line with our mission to use investment capital to promote a sustainable economy, we are pleased to participate in this process."

Azzad's new offering was lauded by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who noted trade finance was "the lifeline of trade." He added that making trade financing accessible and affordable for African and other underserved nations would help those nations become players in global trade.

For more information, log on to www.azzadfunds.com.