BI Readies 3 Strategies to Propel Indonesia as Global Sharia Economic Hub

Bank Indonesia (BI) is continuing to strengthen its support for Indonesia’s position as a global centre for sharia economics and finance. This commitment was underscored directly by BI Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti during the opening of the Sharia Economy Festival (FESyar) for Eastern Indonesia 2026 in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Friday, 10 July 2026. Destry stated that this commitment is firmly held by Bank Indonesia because it sees the extraordinary potential Indonesia possesses. In fact, Indonesia has achieved brilliant accomplishments in the development of the sharia economic and financial ecosystem, based on the analysis of the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report for 2025-2026. “If we look at the breakdown, for the world of Muslim fashion we are ranked number one. Then for Muslim-friendly tourism and travel, we are in second place. And finally, for halal food, we are in third place,” Destry revealed. However, Destry acknowledged that there is still homework to be done. “But we still have many weaknesses in the sharia economic and financial ecosystem that must be improved. One of them is sharia finance. That is a challenge. If we look at the sharia economy, this sharia-based economy is already quite prevalent among us. But the challenge lies in the sharia financial sector, which we must also accelerate, speed up, and of course, utilise the existing digital technology transformation,” she explained. Another challenge, according to Destry, is the limited availability of sharia financial products on the market. This situation means the level of sharia financial inclusion remains low, even though the public’s literacy level is actually quite high. “For sharia, it is the opposite. Inclusion is low, literacy is high. Why? Because our children’s access to sharia economic and financial services is still limited,” she stated. In light of these conditions, BI has prepared several strategic steps to drive the development of the sharia economy and finance as a growth engine. The first is by opening access to measurable financing. Destry stressed that BI does not want festivals like FESyar to be merely a gathering event. She emphasised that there must be real economic turnover for MSMEs.