5th November 2019, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain | The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, and Ivey Business School continue their fruitful cooperation and successfully launched this morning the fifth series of their joint Executive Programme, at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. This year’s programme is themed: “Strategic Thinking, Agile Leadership and Curiosity, and Application of FinTech Innovations”.

Senior Executives from different functions of the finance and banking sector, international organizations, as well as regulatory bodies have gathered together to take part in this world-class and highly interactive learning experience.

Day one of the Executive Programme will focus on agile leadership and will have highly interactive exercises to stimulate thinking and disrupt pre-set assumptions among the participants. The participant will also discover and discuss their level of leadership curiosity as a result of the pre – programme survey that they have undertaken.

CIBAFI’s Strategic Plan 2019 – 2022 focuses on reinforcing the value proposition of Islamic finance, promoting sustainability and responsible business practices within the IFSI, and addressing the real concerns and challenges facing the industry. Sustainable development within the global financial community is a key aim in CIBAFI’s current strategic direction. In this context, the second day of the programme will also be a forum to discuss banks’ responsibility to the society and ethics. The programme also aims to provide an update on global best practices on FinTech and open banking; coupled with a business case on digitalization.

Finally, this year’s series will feature a guest speaker and will end with a design thinking capstone workshop, that was very well-received from the previous year.

As a leading international organisation in supporting the Islamic financial services industry, CIBAFI seeks to ensure the attainment of inclusive and sustainable development for both present and future generations. CIBAFI continually supports the Islamic financial industry through specific activities and initiatives which promote growth, uphold ethical practices and Islamic finance values in all financial dealings and transactions, and facilitate cooperation between members and institutions of common interest, along with providing platforms to discuss emerging issues, and sharing knowledge through specialized publications and comprehensive training programmes.