The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) (www.ICD-PS.org), the private sector arm of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, has recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City Bank Limited (www.TheCityBank.com) and CodersTrust Bangladesh Limited (www.CodersTrustBD.com) in order to test a new banking model named "Biniog Sathi". With the signing of the MOU, the Islamic wing of the City Bank of Bangladesh named City Manarah will extend financing to the students for paying a portion of the training programs undertaken by CodersTrust. These training sessions are designed to make them as qualified freelancers to generate income through online portals. ICD's role will be to govern the entire financing program under its "Biniog Sathi" banking model. Farid Masmoudi, Director of ICD; Sohail R.K. Hussain, Managing Director and Chief Executive of the City Bank Limited; and Ataul Goni Osmani, Country Director of CodersTrust Bangladesh Limited signed the MOU on behalf of their respective institutions. "Biniog Sathi", meaning "Friend in Investment" in Bangla, is a new generation banking model developed by ICD that will resolve the problem of credit default in the banking industry with the help of Zakat and Sadaqa. The model is based on Islamic Finance principles and it will make the Islamic Banking more competitive. During the signing event, Farid Masmoudi, the Director of ICD, said "this is the first pilot test to be conducted under the model and if it is successful, then the banking industry will witness the birth of a new banking model that will resolve an age old problem of credit default." Sohail R.K. Hussain, Managing Director and the CEO of the City Bank Limited, said "with the signing of this MOU, we are for the first time exploring the potentials of Microfinance, which I believe will open a new era of services from our bank." Ataul Goni Osmani, Country Director of CodersTrust, said "Coders Trust has been training freelancers for quite some time and with the collaboration of ICD and the City Bank Limited, our efforts to train students will be greatly enhanced in the future." — SG
