A jubilant Al-Falaah team at the 1st IFFSA Awards night

Al-Falaah, the Islamic Financial Services arm, brought glory and honour to LOLC Group by winning two Gold awards and one Silver at the 1st Islamic Finance Forum of South Asia (IFFSA) Awards 2016 which was organised by UTO EduConsult and adjudicated by KPMG Sri Lanka.  

In the country category, Al-Falaah, Islamic Business Unit of LOLC Finance won the Silver Award for the Islamic Finance Entity of the Year, Sri Lanka and a Gold for the Social Upliftment Award.  Meanwhile, Nadheer Siddeeq of Al-Falaah Takaful of LOLC General InsuranceLimited,garnered the honoursby winning the Gold Award for the‘Rising Islamic Finance Personality of the Year’.

The 1st Annual IFFSA Awards ceremony recognised industry players from countries across the South Asian region including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The awards were evaluated and assessed by a panel of independent judges of repute and were presented country wise with a few awards bestowed on intra-regional basis. Islamic Finance industry players were recognised against their peers in their respective countries, with some selected awards also being presented to players whose services span across the region.

The inaugural IFFSA Awards 2016 was held alongside the first Islamic Finance Forum of South Asia which encompassed the entire South Asian region. The forum discussed the key challenges and the potential for Islamic Finance in the South Asian region as a bloc that comprises a large concentration of Muslims in the world. 

Commenting on Al-Falaah’s win, Krishan Thilakaratne, General Manager, Al-Falaah Islamic Business Unit of LOLC Finance said, “We are truly pleased to see our efforts in making a meaningful and broader impact on the Islamic Finance industry of Sri Lanka, being recognised in this manner.  It is also heartening to see how the industry players in the entire South Asian region have come together to encourage and support each other whilst exploring new avenues for future growth”. 

Also sharing his views, Shiraz Refai, Assistant General Manager, Al-Falaah Islamic Business Unit of LOLC Finance said, “The concluded IFFSA conference and Awards featured some of the most prominent opinion leaders and industry contributors and players from the region. We take humble pride in being recognised as a key player and a socially responsible financier in the region and strive to add more value for all industry stakeholders both locally as well as regionally ,going forward”.

Speaking about the Gold award won by Nadheer Siddeeq of Al-Falaah Takaful of LOLC General Insurance Limited, Nilanga Wickramasinghe Chief Operating Officer of LOLC General Insurance Limited and LOLC Life Assurance Limited said, “We are truly delighted and beyond proud of Siddeeq for being adjudged the Rising Islamic Finance Personality of the Year. This achievement has fully manifested the continuous effort and commitment of our staff and their focus on building long-term relationships with clients”. 

Al-Falaah, the Islaimic Business Unit of LOLC Finance established in 2007, functions directly under the auspices of LOLC Finance PLC, which is one of Sri Lanka’s largest non-banking financial institutions. LOLC Finance which is a regulated Finance Company of the Central Bank is rated [SL] A with stable outlook by ICRA Lanka Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICRA Ltd - an associate of Moody’s Investors Service.