Uganda Gets First Islamic Insurance Company as Yoweri Museveni Launches Firm

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1205 EAT on Friday 13 March 2026

Guests gathered on Tuesday evening in Kampala for an Iftar dinner that also marked a milestone for Uganda’s financial sector.

By the end of the night, the country had taken another step toward adopting a financial model that, until recently, existed largely outside its formal banking system.

Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday officially launched Tamini General Insurance, Uganda’s first Islamic insurance company, marking the latest expansion of the country’s emerging Sharia-compliant financial ecosystem.

The firm, a subsidiary of the Salaam Group, was unveiled during the dinner organised by the Office of the National Chairman. Its launch comes nearly two years after the Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act legalised Islamic banking and finance in Uganda.

The reform paved the way for the launch of Salaam Bank in 2024, the country’s first Islamic bank, signalling the gradual growth of Sharia-compliant financial services in the country.

Standing before religious leaders, business executives and government officials, Yoweri Museveni framed the launch as part of a broader effort to expand financial inclusion in a rapidly growing economy.

“I thank you [Salaam Bank and Tamini] for completing the circle of financial inclusion,” he said, welcoming the investment by the Salaam Group and describing Uganda as a market whose economic potential is only beginning to unfold.

“Salaam Bank and Tamini, you are welcome to Uganda. Uganda is a growing market with over 45 million people. The population will reach 100 million by 2050. You are in Uganda at the right time,” Museveni said.

The president also encouraged Uganda’s Muslim community to take advantage of the Takaful model — the Islamic form of insurance — saying it could support entrepreneurship and help communities escape poverty.

“We should work to eliminate poverty by getting everyone out of poverty,” he said. “By 2013, only 32 per cent of Ugandans were in the money economy. Through Operation Wealth Creation, at least 70 per cent have entered the money economy. The Parish Development Model will help ensure the remaining 30 per cent also move out of poverty.”

Islamic insurance, known as Takaful, operates differently from conventional insurance systems. Rather than transferring risk to an insurance company, participants contribute to a shared pool that compensates members who suffer losses.

The model is based on principles of mutual cooperation and shared responsibility, while avoiding practices prohibited under Islamic law such as interest, excessive uncertainty and gambling.

For the Salaam Group, Tamini Insurance represents another building block in a financial ecosystem designed to serve Ugandans who have historically felt excluded from conventional banking.

Ibrahim M. Abdirahman, chairman of Salaam Bank Limited Uganda, praised the government for creating a regulatory environment that supports alternative financial models.

He noted that Uganda’s insurance penetration remains below one per cent, leaving much of the population vulnerable to financial shocks.

According to Abdirahman, many Ugandans have long avoided formal financial services due to religious or ethical concerns related to interest and uncertainty. The growth of Islamic finance, he said, is helping bridge that gap and bring more people into the formal financial system.

He added that the performance of Salaam Bank Limited Uganda so far demonstrates that ethical, Islamic-based finance can be resilient within Uganda’s market.

For Mohamed Bahdon, chief executive officer of Tamini Insurance Group, the launch also represents the continuation of a journey that began with the opening of the country’s first Islamic bank.

“Two years ago — almost to this very day — Your Excellency stood here and launched Salaam Bank Limited Uganda as Uganda’s first ethical bank,” Bahdon said.

“That was a historic leap for the Muslim community. In just two years, Salaam Bank has welcomed and served thousands of Ugandans who previously felt excluded from the conventional financial system.”

Bahdon described banking and insurance as twin pillars of any modern economy, arguing that the two sectors together can support long-term economic growth.

Within the vision of the Salaam Group, he said, the institutions form a connected financial ecosystem designed to support producers, traders and consumers alike.

“A farmer who accesses halal financing from Salaam Bank to grow crops can now insure that harvest through Tamini,” Bahdon said. “This will contribute to Uganda’s economic transformation from a consuming nation into a producing nation, in line with the vision set by Your Excellency.”

-Observer

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