Annual Report
2021

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

I hereby present ICD’s Annual Report for the year 2021.

With a new year on the horizon, we are reflecting on the challenges, opportunities, and progress in the member countries we supported during 2021. From extending much needed funding to providing technical assistance to support troubled businesses, our priorities have been to help people recover and build resilience in the second year of a global health crisis.

Despite the challenges faced, we forged ahead with delivering tailored private sector solutions. In 2021, total project approvals stood at USD 243.60 million, with term finance and line of finance significantly contributing a 50.08% and 43.51% share respectively with a combined total of USD 228.00 million. This is in line with our commitment to channel resources to better serve end-beneficiaries, primarily SMEs. Meanwhile, equity projects accounted for the remaining 6.40% of total approvals. This brings cumulative approvals since inception to USD 7.08 billion. We also disbursed USD 208.71 million, a healthy improvement from last year’s USD 135.48 million, with the largest allocation to high-impact sectors such as finance (62.25%), transportation (19.17%) energy (13.80%) and industry and mining (4.79%). Overall, the disbursement-to-approval ratio stood at 85.68%, almost double of the previous year.

Update on ICD’s COVID-19 response

As you are aware, in April 2020, we committed USD 250 million in emergency funding to assist businesses affected by the pandemic. As at end of 2021, under the special COVID-19 Package, ICD received a total of 25 formal financing requests amounting to more than USD 300 million from over 20 member countries. To date, a total of 12 line of finance transactions equalling USD 169.2 million have been approved under the package, with USD 72.9 million being disbursed. In addition, two equity transactions have also been approved totalling USD 19.2 million. Moving forward, we pledge to continue channelling our resources efficiently and delivering crucial support to those most vulnerable to the economic impacts of the pandemic.

Supporting innovative solutions

In some of the countries where we work, crises such as conflict and climate change have exacerbated existing economic hardships. 2021 saw the Business Resilience Assistance for Value-Added Enterprises (BRAVE) Women Program come to fruition in Nigeria with commendable milestones accomplished, where specialized business training and financial support helped women-led businesses improve their resilience and serve as an engine for innovation, growth, and employment of more women. We also signed three new advisory mandates consisting of a liability management exercise for the Maldives and two subsequent tap issuances, helping the country  reduce its short-term refinancing risk and ensuring its steady path to recovery. In total, ICD was able to raise USD 5.2 billion from the sukuk market in 2021, ranking it among the top (13th place) on the Bloomberg league tables for International Sukuk and US Dollar International Sukuk.

Forging partnerships

Building ecosystems with shared purpose, principles and progress requires a more coordinated approach. In 2021, ICD achieved important business synergies with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) with the establishment of a Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) to promote cross-selling and deal sharing. I had the honour of chairing the 2021 TCC CEO meetings and am proud of the achievements we have made in the year in terms of engagements, shared deal pipeline and approvals. As at year end, the TCC enabled the entities to share more than 35 deals with a total value of USD 1.8 billion in 19 different member countries. In addition, the entities also co-invested in nine sukuk transactions with a total value of over USD 617 million.

Externally, we continued to engage with multiple stakeholders, new and old, to enhance collaboration and strengthen commitments in tackling global issues and innovating multi-faceted solutions. This includes, for example, signing agreements with the Malaysia EXIM Bank, the Saudi EXIM BANK, and the Trade Development Bank (TDB) on pipeline sharing and co-financing and numerous strategic consultations and workshops with development finance institutions (DFIs), multilateral development banks (MDBs) and Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the International Financial Corporation (IFC), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and Saudi Arabia’s National Development Fund (NDF) and Public Investment Fund (PIF) on opportunities for enhanced cooperation.

Tracking our development impact

On the sustainability front, the pandemic has had a positive influence on our ongoing sustainability journey, as it inspired a re-evaluation of what is important to us, and our role in managing bigger issues across the globe. We are of course deeply rooted in communities where we have a presence, and continuously work with partners to improve lives and promote sustainable development. Our latest Annual Development Effectiveness Survey results revealed that ICD’s respected clients and partners supported over 74,000 jobs, while a total of 4,742 SMEs benefited from ICD’s financing activities. ICD-supported projects also resulted in export sales and tax revenue generation totalling USD 74.49 million and USD 72.83 million respectively in member countries, with USD 2.31 million spent on community development.

As testament to our steadfast commitment in advancing the sustainability agenda, ICD joined the SDG Finance Advisory Board for the Global Councils on SDGs in September 2021.

I am also proud to share that as testament to our steadfast commitment in advancing the sustainability agenda, ICD joined the SDG Finance Advisory Board for the Global Councils on SDGs in September 2021. The Global Councils on SDGs aims to give visibility to the best approaches and ideas vetted by practitioners. With one Council per goal, members are a unique interdisciplinary network of international decision makers. Councils work to first identify major bottlenecks in the delivery of results on the SDGs on a national and global level, and then the solutions – potential policies, technologies, and resource allocations – to unblock progress towards 2030. With a new term for 2021-2023 in place and as a member of the SDG Finance Advisory Board, ICD will be assisting in the design, implementation and scale-up of the initiatives launched by the other SDG councils by offering them the opportunity to tap into the knowledge and networks of members, and to mobilize funding sources to enable and optimize the target outcome of these initiatives.

Investing in our people

2021 also witnessed the conclusion of our comprehensive corporate restructuring exercise, which kickstarted in 2019 as part of the ongoing execution of ICD’s refreshed strategy. As the most critical input into our business, human capital is not only about building a productive and skilful workforce, but also enabling them to manage emerging risks and opportunities. We worked hard at fostering a nurturing environment that will allow our people to seamlessly realize organisational needs and aspirations, while also valuing their own personal and professional growth. I believe this new blueprint will enable us to focus on the key areas needed to transform our organization to achieve greater success.

Better days ahead

While we continue to navigate the new normal, the future will see us growing stronger and better, even if uncertainties continue on a global level. In the long term, we at ICD aim to bring about a systemic change in the way the private sector is involved in the global development agenda as there is still much to do. This is the moment to use our unique capacity to work across boundaries, connecting capital, people, ideas and best practices, both locally and globally.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely extend my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to our former Group President, H.E. Dr. Bandar Hajjar, for his invaluable guidance during his years of remarkable service. I wish him all the best and every success in his future endeavours. To our new Group President, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, I am positive that his strong leadership will take the IsDB Group to new heights. He most definitely has ICD’s utmost support and dedication in achieving the new, articulated aspirations of the IsDB Group, and we at ICD look forward to being involved in every step of the way with renewed vigour. I would also like to thank our Board of Executive Directors–as always, I am grateful for your continued support which has been invaluable to the many successes we have enjoyed to date.

To the entire ICD family: Let’s not lose sight of our purpose and our fulfilling mission of supporting and developing the private sector as a powerful engine for inclusive growth and stability. I am humbled by some of the stories of how my colleagues are ensuring exceptional continuity of service to our clients in often difficult circumstances, and I have no doubt that they will continue to go the extra mile to make a positive difference.

All the best for the coming year and I wish you all the possible success, In Sha Allah.

Faithfully,

Ayman Amin Sejiny
Chief Executive Officer
Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector