Sakana's training creating expertise in Islamic finance

Since its launch in late 2006, the company has had an influx of inquiries about its Sharia'a compliant mortgages, reflecting a level of demand for property and land finance that is proving to be even greater than market estimates had predicted. At the same time, Sakana's internal training scheme is placing its new and growing young team of staff at the forefront of developments in the field of Islamic finance and equipping them with specialist expertise to deal with the burgeoning demand for financial products that are Sharia'a compliant.

Commenting on the upsurge in interest for Islamic finance, R, Lakshmanan, Sakana's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Sakana's role and the products we offer, appear to resonate with a large proportion of people who are seeking to purchase property and who feel that Islamic finance is in keeping with their religious and ethical standards. Sakana's products are also in great demand by non-muslims."

"Sakana was established to help enable more people to buy property or land or even to renovate or extend their homes through the provision of accessible financial products. Our holistic approach, underpinned by an ethos that is guided by Islamic Sharia's principles, drives the company to focus on researching and developing financial products that are Sharia'a compliant."

"As the concept of mortgages is still very new to this region, Sakana is very much at the forefront of the property finance sector, suitably positioned to deploy an innovative approach to the development of finance products that is taking us into new and previously unchartered areas with specialist support from our Sharia'a Advisor, Sheikh Osama Mohammed Saad Bahar."

Mr. Lakshmanan continued: "In addition, as a new company, working in this developing sector, Sakana seems to be proving attractive as an employer for young people who are keen to grow and develop with the company. We are proud to have an 75% Bahraini workforce, made up of a 50:50 mix of young men and women, with average age under 30, on whom we are focusing structured and ongoing training in Islamic Finance as well as mortgage sales, customer service and credit."

"The training we are providing for our new young staff is making a significant contribution to the growth of industry knowledge about Islamic finance and through our customer facing staff, the public are discovering options that meet their Islamic requirements while enabling more people to become home owners, or to improve property they already own."

Sakana's multi-skilled competencies ensure a flexible approach to the provision of services for a range of potential clients that include both residents and non-residents as well as corporate clients, with a broad offer that includes financing solutions for purchase, construction, refinance, equity release, improvement or extension of a home, or even the purchase of land.