. the central bank of kenya through its capacity building arm – the kenya school of monetary studies ( ksms ) intends to develop a certified agricultural finance program in collaboration with compete – usaid. this program will be suitable for agricultural officers as well as credit officers. this is important in developing the critical mass of human capital that fully understands agribusiness, such as agribusiness cycles, risk management practices, farm cash - flows and finance and insurance. this will support farmers and also develop a strong drive to lift the policy paradigm in this area. but the wider scope of monetary policy support is not in doubt. finally, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to conclude my brief remarks by wishing all of you fruitful deliberations this morning. thank you very much for your kind attention.

insurance regulatory authority to offer shariah - compliant insurance services. although the concept of “ takaful ” has been in existence in the global arena for several decades, this product is now being offered for the very first time by an entity incorporated and licensed in kenya. ladies and gentlemen : first community bank ltd has again trail - blazed by introducing a shariah - compliant mutual fund. i am informed that the fund will be denominated in kenya shillings and the aim is to pool funds amounting to ksh. 1 billion. the fund will invest principally in sharia - compliant opportunities in kenya and other countries in the eastern africa region and may also undertake offshore investments. the bank intends to invest in money market instruments, equity, structured investments and other collective investment schemes that are all shariah - compliant. indeed, this fund will avail investment opportunities to many people, particularly those who could not invest in the available products on account bis central bankers ’ speeches of faith - based or other risk related restrictions. it is a welcome addition to deepening kenya ’ s nascent capital markets. this move is also a positive step towards not only attracting increased foreign direct investments into the country and the region at large, but also enhancing the capacity of the kenyan people to harness the available resources for national development. as you are aware, a key goal of the government of kenya, as espoused in vision 2030 is establishing kenya as a premier financial services hub in the region with a wide range of competitive products and services. one of the ways of achieving this goal is ensuring that kenya becomes the gateway for shariah - compliant financing, through establishment of an enabling environment that supports the development of shariah - compliant financial services and products. to this end, the central bank has in the recent past liaised with the shariahcompliant banks and established the main challenges that impede the achievements of this objective. some of these impediments are : inadequate shariah - compliant products. for example, the lack of shariah - compliant liquidity instruments places shariah - compliant banks at a disadvantage compared to the conventional banks ; uncertainty on the tax treatment of shariah - compliant financial instruments ; inadequacy of the requisite human capital with respect to shariah - compliant finance. ladies and gentlemen : the central bank is in this regard engaging other relevant arms of government to address these challenges in order to propel shariah - compliant finance to