REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) returns from October 25 to 29, 2023. This largest annual event for Islamic economics and finance in Indonesia carries the theme “Accelerating Sharia Economy and Finance Through Digitalization For Inclusive and Sustainable Growth” and will feature 793 exhibitors from Indonesia and 20 friendly countries.
The Director of the Sharia Economic and Finance Department at Bank Indonesia, Wahyu Purnama, stated that this year, ISEF is collaborating with the Halal Expo Indonesia (HEI) to create the largest Business to Business and Business to Consumer exhibition in Indonesia. This collaboration is also expected to accelerate the development of halal products and strengthen the Islamic economy and finance ecosystem, further establishing Indonesia as a significant global halal industry hub.
Several special events at ISEF 2023 include the International Halal Chef Competition (IN2HCC), which will be the first event of its kind in the world.
“There will be an international halal cooking competition with participation from 15 countries,” said Wahyu in Jakarta on Tuesday (September 26, 2023).
Wahyu noted that this competition would also stimulate industry players in the culinary sector to improve the quality of halal food, given Indonesia’s target to become the global halal center by 2024.
In addition to the cooking competition, there will also be the Indonesia International Modest Fashion Festival (IN2MF), which involves international designers to enhance the scale of Indonesia’s modest fashion industry and position it as a reference for global modest fashion. Furthermore, there are nine international events organized in collaboration with IFSB, IsDB, IIFM, and IILM to strengthen Indonesia’s positioning as an international halal hub for the development of Islamic economics and finance. To enhance inclusivity, ISEF 2023 will also host the ISEF Fun Walk, a grand tabligh, a series of talk shows with experts and practitioners open to the public, and various other events in collaboration with relevant parties.
The organization of ISEF 2023 will also strengthen collective efforts and synergize various policies and programs for the development of Islamic economics and finance from various authorities and related institutions through the National Committee for Islamic Economy and Finance (KNEKS). As a state institution consistently supporting the development of Islamic economics and finance in Indonesia, Bank Indonesia continuously seeks to expand its network with various parties to strengthen the halal value chain ecosystem. One of these efforts is in collaboration with PT HEI, which partners strategically with the Indonesian Muslim Entrepreneurs Community (KPMI) to facilitate business matching programs during ISEF.
“The collaboration between ISEF and HEI is expected to strengthen the synergy between the government and business actors in developing Islamic economics and finance to realize Indonesia’s vision as the global halal center by 2024,” said Wahyu.
CFO of PT Halal Expo Indonesia, Aryo Wibisono, appreciated Bank Indonesia’s commitment to consistently promoting the development of Islamic economics and finance in the country. Through the HEI event at ISEF 2023, Aryo stated that business actors would be facilitated to export their products to several countries currently in cooperation, especially countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others.
“For business actors looking to partner with producers from abroad, opportunities are also available. This HEI event will feature pavilions from friendly countries seeking to expand into Indonesia and needing local partners,” said Aryo.
Aryo added that HEI has partnered with several international halal expos and halal authorities such as the Saudi International Halal Expo, Halal Expo Nigeria, Halal Expo London, Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), Korea Halal Authority, Halal Control Germany, Vietnam Halal Center, Japan Halal Certification Promotion Organization, Cape Malay Consultant, and others. Halal Expo Indonesia has also recently signed a strategic agreement with Wasabih, a prominent online community for Islamic economics.
Source: Republika
