01
Impact finance
Direct capital toward measurable social, economic and environmental effects.
Measurable effects
Swiss association · Geneva
Making ethical finance a lever for shared progress.
IIFEC brings together diasporas, institutions and economic actors to structure ethical financial solutions between Europe and West Africa.
Geneva · Switzerland
Cooperation · Ethics · Impact
IndependentNeutralNon-denominationalSwiss-law institute · Geneva
Key figures
5,980 bn USD
Ethical finance 2025in global assets, +21% in one year
5 SDGs
United Nationsanchored in IIFEC’s action
100 bn USD
Diaspora 2024transferred to Africa, beyond official development assistance
1st
Forum 2026European edition in Geneva
Sources: World Bank, Islamic Finance Development Report (AAOIFI), 2024–2025.
Our field of action
5 forms of ethical finance
A plural, neutral and non-denominational approach, grounded in justice and sharing.
02
Inclusive finance
Broaden access to financial solutions for underserved people and communities.
Access for all03
Solidarity finance
Mobilise savings and resources for collective and community projects.
Community ties04
Participatory finance
Bring together multiple contributors to transparently fund shared initiatives.
Collective funding05
Islamic finance
Base operations on the real economy, contractual ethics and risk-sharing.
Risk-sharingSix pillars
Our pillars of action
A clear framework of action, serving institutions, communities and the real economy.
Ethical finance
Transparency, fairness and responsible risk-sharing.
Diaspora & network
Uniting actors between Europe and West Africa.
Cooperation
Building lasting dialogue between institutions, experts and communities.
SDGs & impact
Anchoring action in five sustainable development goals.
Geneva · Switzerland
Positioning IIFEC within a European hub of governance and expertise.
Forum 2026
Creating in Geneva a space for reflection, encounter and structuring.
Why now
The world is changing. So is the African diaspora.
’26
Jan. · United States
Tax on diaspora remittances
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” introduces a federal tax on money sent abroad. Europe is emerging as the alternative hub.
Direct threatOne Big Beautiful Bill Act, July 2025’25
World
Ethical finance: $5,980bn, +21%
The global industry reaches a record high. The most dynamic segment, and the least served for the diaspora in Europe.
Market opportunityIslamic Finance Development Report, AAOIFI’26
Feb. · Burkina Faso
Diaspora Bonds: CFA 240bn
A first-of-its-kind instrument channels diaspora savings into structured investments. A signal that confirms the urgency.
Structural signalGovernment of Burkina Faso, 2026The moment is now.
Our response →Mission
A fair, ethical and sustainable finance
IIFEC was born from a conviction: finance can, and must, be a lever for justice, inclusion and sustainable development. It brings together institutions, investors and communities that share this vision.
Acting as a facilitator between Europe, the African diaspora and West Africa, IIFEC creates the conditions for the diaspora’s savings and capital to become concrete financial solutions, aligned with everyone’s values.
IIFEC carries out no banking activity. It acts as an institutional platform, a network of expertise and a neutral space for dialogue between the actors of global ethical finance.
“A system that excludes two-thirds of the world’s population cannot be just.”
Muhammad Yunus
Nobel Peace Prize 2006 · Founder of Grameen Bank
Our missions
From collective demand to institutional representation
Four complementary missions structure IIFEC’s work.
01
Diaspora aggregation
Qualify and bring together the demand of diaspora associations, dahiras and federations organised in Europe.
02
Ethical certification
Attest the ethical compliance of financial products: dual ESG and compliance certification.
03
Structuring of financial vehicles
Co-structure community-impact vehicles dedicated to the diaspora with banks and asset managers.
04
Institutional representation
Carry the voice of the African diaspora in European ethical-finance arenas and with Swiss regulators.
Governance
The IIFEC committee
IIFEC is governed by a committee elected in accordance with Swiss law (art. 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code). Members serve on a voluntary basis.
Presidency
President
Management
Executive management
Management
Operations management
Secretariat
General secretariat
IIFEC is a non-profit association governed by Swiss law (art. 60 ff. CC). It is independent, neutral and non-denominational. Any decision binding IIFEC is subject to the committee’s collegial deliberation.
Our values
What guides us
Finance is only ethical if its principles remain visible in every decision.
Six commitments structure our governance, partnerships and actions.
Transparency
Every financial practice must be clear, traceable and understandable. No speculation, no opacity.
Responsibility
Finance has real consequences on real lives. We act with awareness of these responsibilities.
Fairness
Risks and benefits must be shared fairly. We reject mechanisms that enrich some at the expense of others.
Rooted in the real economy
All financing must be backed by real economic activity. Ethical finance rejects speculation disconnected from the real.
Inclusion
Financial solutions must be accessible to all, including the underbanked.
Independence
IIFEC is independent, neutral and non-denominational. Its positions are driven by its values.
Sustainable Development Goals
Our SDG commitment
Every IIFEC action is anchored in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
1
No poverty
Access to financial services for people excluded from the banking system.
8
Decent work & growth
Financing diaspora SMEs to create sustainable jobs.
10
Reduced inequalities
Fair access to credit, savings and investment for the diaspora.
11
Sustainable cities
Affordable housing and community centres for urban real estate.
17
Partnerships
Europe–diaspora–West Africa cooperation between banks and institutions.
Reference partners
An initiative co-built with institutional actors
Strategic partner · Islamic finance
African Institute of Islamic Finance
Founded by Mr Mouhamadou Lamine Mbacké
The African Institute of Islamic Finance (AIIF — Advisory and Training) has established itself as a reference institution for advisory, training and support of Islamic-finance investors within ECOWAS, an economic area of 15 countries and more than 260 million people.
Founded in March 2009 in Dakar by Mr Mouhamadou Lamine Mbacké, the Institute has supported the emergence of a regional Islamic-finance ecosystem. Its creation, hailed by Senegal’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, helped position the country as a driving hub of this sector within WAEMU.
AIIF anchors its expertise in an international network connecting the major hubs of London, Bahrain, Kuala Lumpur and Paris. Its activities bring together specialists in banking, insurance, microfinance and international management, around a rigorous, multicultural reading of African markets.
Its mission is built around three priorities: strengthening the Islamic-finance infrastructure in West Africa, connecting Gulf investors to African market opportunities, and training the professionals and regulators who will sustainably carry its development.
Islamic finance
IIFEC’s strategic partner for Islamic finance.
Islamic expertiseInternational forum
Our activities
What we do
IIFEC works along four complementary lines to promote ethical finance and support the African diaspora.
Our method
From the expression of a collective need to its representation before financial and institutional actors.
ListenQualifyStructureRepresent
01
Aggregate
Qualifying and aggregating demand →
Aggregate and qualify the demand of diaspora associations, dahiras and federations in Europe, and present it in institutional form to banks and financial institutions.
02
Certify
Ethical certification and compliance →
Attest the ethical compliance of products and vehicles: dual ESG and compliance certification, a rare asset in continental Europe.
03
Structuring partner
Co-structuring of financial vehicles →
Co-structure compliant vehicles and community-impact funds with banks and asset managers. IIFEC neither distributes nor invests: it structures and certifies.
04
Represent
Institutional voice of the diaspora →
Carry the institutional voice of the African diaspora in European ethical-finance arenas and with Swiss regulators and the financial centre.
Flagship event 2026
Geneva Ethical Finance Forum 2026
In partnership with AIIF (African Institute of Islamic Finance), IIFEC co-organises the 11th edition of the International Forum on Islamic Finance for West Africa — the first European edition after ten years of forums held on the African continent.
5–6 October 2026
Hôtel Président Wilson · Geneva · By invitation
Visit the Forum website →
2026 theme
“The African diaspora, a strategic actor in international ethical finance.”
1st
time in Europe
10
editions in Africa
3
thematic workshops
15+
countries represented
Join IIFEC
Become a member
IIFEC welcomes individual and corporate members who share its values. Admission is decided by the committee.
Individual
Active member
- Voting rights at the General Assembly
- Access to the IIFEC network
- Preferential rates at events
- Newsletter and publications
Organisation
Institutional member
- Voting rights at the General Assembly
- Visibility in the IIFEC network
- Participation in working groups
- Possible event co-organisation
- Designated permanent representative
Honorary
Honorary member
- Appointed by the committee
- Exemption from dues
- Advisory and ambassador role
- Institutional visibility
Support IIFEC
IIFEC is a non-profit association. Donations fund research, training and the organisation of forums. Every gift is free and welcome, whatever the amount.
Contact
Write to us
For any membership, partnership or information request about our activities, our team replies within 48 working hours.
Registered office2 Allée de l'Innovation, 1217 Meyrin, Geneva
Websitewww.iifec.com
Phone · WhatsApp+41 77 292 54 27