Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…Country guide · OIC member state
Guinea-Bissau, a small West African country with a large Muslim population and an OIC member since 1974, belongs to the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Its banks and microfinance institutions therefore follow the Islamic finance rules of the regional central bank, the BCEAO, in force since 2018.
Across the WAEMU, the number of approved Islamic finance institutions grew from 2 in 2018 to 21 at the end of 2025, opening the way for Islamic banking and microfinance in smaller markets such as Guinea-Bissau. This guide lists the institutions behind each part, with their pages on Wasabih.
The regional central bank that sets the Islamic finance rules for Guinea-Bissau 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.
The BCEAO, the central bank of the eight WAEMU countries, whose Islamic finance instructions for banks and microfinance institutions came into force in 2018.
The number of approved Islamic finance institutions in the eight WAEMU countries rose from 2 in 2018 to 21 at the end of 2025, according to the BCEAO's figures.
Yes, with BCEAO authorisation: a bank can operate exclusively as an Islamic bank or open an Islamic window under the 2018 instructions.
Guinea-Bissau has no national Halal law; exporters should use certification bodies recognised by their buyers' countries.
Guinea-Bissau has been a member state of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation since 1974.
Part of the Halal economy in Guinea-Bissau?
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