Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…Country guide · OIC member state
Benin, a West African country on the Gulf of Guinea with a large Muslim community and an OIC member since 1983, became in January 2026 the first African state to issue an international sovereign sukuk: a 500 million US dollar, seven-year issue. The government presented it as a way to open new sources of financing and strengthen financial ties with the Gulf countries.
As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Benin applies the Islamic finance rules of the regional central bank, the BCEAO, which came into force in 2018 for banks and microfinance institutions. This guide lists the institutions behind each part, with their pages on Wasabih.
The regional central bank that sets the Islamic finance rules for Benin and the other WAEMU countries.
🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal
Central bank of the West African Monetary Union, headquartered in Dakar. It issued the 2018 rules for Islamic finance in banks and microfinance institutions and accepts sukuk at its refinancing windows.
Yes. In January 2026 Benin issued a US$500 million, seven-year international sovereign sukuk, the first by an African state, alongside a US$350 million add-on to its 2038 Eurobond.
The government said the sukuk opens access to new financing from Islamic finance investors and strengthens Benin's financial relations with the Gulf countries.
The BCEAO, the central bank of the eight WAEMU countries, sets the rules for Islamic finance by banks and microfinance institutions; the WAEMU Banking Commission supervises the banks.
Benin has no national Halal law or authority. Exporters should use certification bodies recognised by their buyers' countries.
Benin has been a member state of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation since 1983.
Part of the Halal economy in Benin?
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