Strategies Adopted by Islamic Financial Institutions in Kenya

Abstract

Islamic financial institutions ability to withstand the global economic downturn has been the driving force resulting in their expansion around the world. In Kenya, Islamic financial institutions function under a system promoting Shari’ah-compliant financial services in line with Sharia law. The study scrutinized the competitive strategies implemented by Islamic financial institutions to enhance their competitive operations in Kenya. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional investigation design. The target of this study consisted of institutions offering Islamic (Sharia) compliant financial products in Kenya. This study used descriptive statistics to analyze the data including data collection, its organization and finally analyzed part of the population or sample under the examination. The study found out that Islamic financial institutions in Kenya use their competencies including employees specialized in their unique services with exceptional knowledge to fine-tune or advance their products and services. This ensures clients satisfaction through quality service delivery that is their beyond expectations. The findings also showed that the Islamic financial institutions in Kenya scale up their direct impact in the delivery of unique services to a significant number of clients; by offering services not offered by competitors and by lowering prices as a penetration strategy. The study recommended that these institutions should focus on developing and sustaining competitive strategies focused on their clients` sustainability and improving customer loyalty since this can lead to the adoption of different approaches to various actors in their business operating environment. They should also enhance the already existing exceptionality of their financial services as a differentiating strategy since the value added enables the company to demand a premium price.