The Turkish Investment Fund and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), part of the Islamic Development Bank Group, signed an Islamic Co-Financing Framework Agreement in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 2026 Islamic Development Bank Group Annual Meetings.
The agreement opens an Islamic finance channel for the Turkish Investment Fund, the region's first jointly established international financial institution, to provide up to $50 million in resources for private sector financing in five partner member states. This framework also activates the Managed Islamic Co-Financing Program (MICFP), an Islamic co-financing platform that will provide financing together with ICD.
First structured Islamic finance initiative
The MICFP is the Turkish Investment Fund's first structured initiative in Islamic finance. The program provides the fund with access to ICD's Islamic finance expertise, network of co-financing institutions, and operational experience in the region.
Under the arrangement, financing will be channeled to small and medium-sized enterprises in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan through local co-financing institutions. ICD will originate, structure, and manage each financing facility, drawing on its more than 20 years of experience in Islamic finance for the private sector.
ICD will also contribute capital to each financing facility alongside the Turkish Investment Fund, aiming to support alignment of interests between the two institutions.
Emphasis on financial connectivity in the Turkic world
The framework agreement is said to offer strategic gains for the Turkish Investment Fund. The arrangement is expected to expand the fund's access to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through co-financing institutions and contribute to promoting Islamic finance in member countries.
The agreement is also stated to serve strengthening financial connectivity in the Turkic world. The cooperation aligns with the fund's objectives of private sector development, trade facilitation, and financial integration.
Turkish Investment Fund General Director Ramil Babayev described the agreement as an important step toward realizing the fund's mission. Babayev said this partnership offers a fast and reliable channel to support the private sector in member countries.
Babayev emphasized that the signing of the agreement at the Islamic Development Bank Group Annual Meetings also positions the Turkish Investment Fund within a broader development finance architecture.
It was also noted that ICD is the first multilateral development institution to establish an institutional framework partnership with the Turkish Investment Fund, which began its operational activities earlier this year. The cooperation aims to support the development of Islamic finance banking ecosystems in the Turkic world.
