Indonesia Ready to Support Zanzibar to Develop MSMEs and Sharia Finance

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) led the Indonesian delegation in welcoming the visit of Zanzibar Economic Empowerment Agency (ZEEA) on Wednesday (23/4/2025) at PNM Tower. The meeting discussed opportunities for collaboration in the empowerment of MSMEs, the development of sharia finance, and zakat management. Both sides agreed to strengthen sharia economic and financial ties for mutual benefit.

ZEEA CPA Chairperson Juma Amour Mohamed said Zanzibar is a state of Tanzania where 99 percent of the population is Islamic. According to him, Zanzibar has great potential to develop halal products, but it does not yet have a halal certification agency.

“Zanzibar intends to learn from Indonesia's experience in drafting regulatory frameworks and building institutions related to halal certification,” he said.

The Zanzibar delegation was also interested in developing an MSME training program integrated with sharia and zakat finance that had been developed by PNM and Baznas.

The Indonesian delegation led by KNEKS along with PNM, Baznas and LPDB welcomed this cooperation initiative and stated that Indonesia is ready to share experience and knowledge. Director of Sharia Business and Entrepreneurship, KNEKS Putu Rahwidhiyasa said KNEKS is ready to help.

“KNEKS is ready to coordinate with various regulators, practitioners and academics in providing the technical assistance needed to develop the halal economy and sharia finance in Zanzibar,” Putu said.

Mekaar Program Pilot

Mekaar program, PNM becomes one of the strategic approaches in empowering MSMEs. PNM Operations Director Sunar Basuki said that the Mekaar program has empowered more than 15 million precocious women across Indonesia.

“We welcome Zanzibar's interest in replicating our approach. This program not only gives access to sharia financing, but also ongoing training and mentoring,” he said.

PNM explains the socio-economic impact of the Mekaar Program on PNM's Customers. EVP Services Development and Management of PNM, Razak Manan Ahmad, said customers experienced an increase in income after joining this program.

“A total of 73.89 percent of PNM customers experienced an increase in income after joining the Mekaar Program, and as many as 62.9 percent experienced an increase in financial resilience,” Razak said.

Zakat for Poverty Alleviation

The Indonesian delegation also explained Zakat's contribution to poverty alleviation and empowerment of pre-prosperous businesses through the Baznas Microfinance Village and Mesjid Program. The total funds that have been distributed by Baznas Microfinance amounted to Rp 23.1 billion per year or Rp 92.4 Billion during the 4 years since the program was launched.

“Out of about 32,000 zakat recipients, 20,000 of them are out of poverty,” said Muhammad Hasbi Zaenal, Deputy Director of the Baznas Research Center.

LPDB Sharia Director Ari Permana said that since 2008, LPDB has channeled Rp 13.69 trillion in financing to 54,190 MSMEs through 2,236 Cooperatives. “If necessary, LPDB is ready to provide technical assistance in the development of a sharia-compliant revolving fund scheme in Zanzibar,” Ari said.

This meeting is expected to be the beginning for the formation of continuous technical cooperation between Indonesia and Zanzibar in the field of empowering MSMEs of Halal Industry and strengthening sharia finance.