The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in collaboration with Sokoto Zakat and Endowment Agency (SOZEA) has begun a four-day capacity-building workshop on enhancing Zakat, Waqf, and other Islamic social finance instruments for workers.
themomentng reports that the project is tagged “2024–2026 IsDB/SOZEA Training and Capacity Building Project 11.
NAN reports that the training was designed to enhance the professional competence and institutional capacity of personnel responsible for administering Islamic social finance programmes in Sokoto State.
It was also part of a commitment to strengthen Islamic social finance institutions in Nigeria and beyond.
Speaking at the event held in Sokoto on Sunday, the executive chairman of SOZEA, Malam Lawal Maidoki, said the initiative aimed to promote the significance of Zakat and endowment.
Maidoki said the training was expected to deepen participants’ understanding of contemporary approaches to Zakat and Waqf management while equipping them with the practical knowledge required to mobilize, administer, and utilise Islamic social finance resources more effectively.
“Islamic social finance, Zakat and Waqf have historically served as important mechanisms for supporting vulnerable populations, promoting social welfare and creating sustainable, community-based development.
“It is believed that strengthening the institutions responsible for managing these resources could unlock greater opportunities for poverty reduction and economic empowerment,” Maidoki said.
He pointed out that the capacity-building programme also sought to expose staff to modern institutional practices capable of improving public confidence in Zakat and Waqf administration.
“It seek to improve public confidence in Zakat and Waqf administration, particularly in the areas of resource mobilization, beneficiary identification, documentation, monitoring and impact assessment,” he said.
Earlier, Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State, represented by the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Dr. Jabir Maihula, commended the organisers for the initiative and urged participants to utilise the knowledge for efficient management of Zakat and Waqf resources.
Aliyu observed that it would facilitate greater transparency, accountability, efficiency and strict adherence to Islamic principles.
“With the backing of IsDB, the project further underscores the growing international recognition of Islamic social finance as a potential instrument for achieving inclusive development and complementing conventional social protection mechanisms,” he said.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who was represented by the District Head of Kilgori, Dr Jabbi Kilgori, described the initiative as a step toward building a stronger institutional foundation for expending Zakat and Waqf interventions.
Abubakar explained that the initiative goes beyond immediate relief to sustainable programmes that support education, healthcare, livelihoods, entrepreneurship, and other areas of human development.
A cross-section of speakers said the success of the initiative would ultimately depend on translating the knowledge acquired during the training into measurable improvements in the administration and deployment of Islamic social finance resources.
They explained that the programme was expected to contribute to the broader objective of building a more professional, accountable and development-oriented Islamic social finance system capable of responding effectively to the needs of vulnerable communities.
Stakeholders observed that the IsDB/SOZEA partnership represents an important step towards repositioning Zakat and Waqf from largely welfare-oriented interventions into strategic instruments for sustainable socio-economic development in Sokoto, Nigeria and the wider Muslim world.
