KIMS Microfinance is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms.Rahma Hersi as their newest Board Member.

Rahma Hersi has over a decade of experience in working in the Islamic finance sector including in different fields such as Islamic Finance and Banking, Islamic Social Finance, Microfinance Shariah Governance, Regulations, and the Halal economy.

Rahma currently works as the Head of Africa at the world’s premier Islamic advisory firm, Gateway Islamic Advisory LLP where she is a partner and oversees Africa and heads the Shari’a team at the firm. Rahma is also an adjunct at Umma University, the 1^st Faith based Islamic University in Kenya, where she teaches courses on Islamic finance. She has a wealth of experience in Economic Justice and Gender Advocacy, drafting of Islamic finance rules and regulations for Oman, drafting legal policies and procedures for Islamic Banks, and also drafting and reviewing Islamic banking contracts in use by the First Shariah compliant bank in East Africa and Central Africa. Rahma also works on advising both Islamic and conventional financial institutionsin the area of Islamic finance and advising of NGO’s and for-profit companies on Islamic Social Finance.

Rahma has both local and international experience having worked for the first Islamic bank in Kenya, First Community Bank. Rahma has worked closely with the Kenya Capital Markets Authority Working Group, advising on Islamic finance. She has recently been appointed to the Kenya Financial Review panel by the Capital Markets Authority.

Rahma has also worked in the GCC, with Ernst and Young in their specialized Islamic finance team advising on Islamic finance regulations and banking.

Rahma has a Master’s in International Comparative Law from the Robert Mckinney School of Law, Indiana University, a Bachelors in Shari’a and Law from the International Islamic University of Islamabad, and a Bachelor in Islamic studies from the same school.

Upon taking up this new role Rahma reacted,

“We work every day to push for inclusivity with within the Islamic Finance industry. I am very happy to share that KIMS Microfinance is walking the talk. They are pushing for women’s participation at every level including within its leadership I am humbled and excited to announce that they have appointed me as the firstwoman to sit on their Board. I don’t take this lightly, being the first Muslim, Somali woman sitting on the board of an Islamic microfinance institution, and I will seek to represent the social and economic aspirations of Muslim women and girls across East Africa and beyond in this role”.

Responding to this new appointment KIMS Chairman Mr. Mustafa said,

“The economic empowerment of women is central to the work of KIMS. Rahma’s skills, leadership and experience will give the organisation a significant boost in achieving this objective. Furthermore, her deep technical knowledge within the Islamic finance field will strongly support KIMS aspirations to become the leading provider of Islamic microfinance services across the Horn of Africa”.

About KIMS

KIMS Microfinance is a privately-owned microfinance company, with its headquarters in Hargeisa and serving the entire Somali market.

Established and registered as Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) since 2013 and operating since 2014 KIMS operates in via 13 branches across all Somali regions. KIMS has provided more than $12 million in sharia’a compliant financing to thousands of micro and small businesses, creating an estimated 8,000 new jobs. Its services focus on low income, economically active populations and particularly proriritise vulnerable populations such as women, youth and displaced groups. KIMS also focusses on supporting growth sectors of the Somali economy including agriculture, fisheries and the off-grid renewable energy sector. For example KIMS support to fisheries cooperatives in Jubaland, South-East Somalia, is estimated to have created more than 1,500 new jobs to date.