Building a Sharia Economy Ecosystem: Lessons from West Java

Synergy between central and regional governments is key to developing an integrated and sustainable Sharia economy. This was highlighted at the Central and Regional Synergy Forum on the Development of the Sharia Economy and Finance, held as part of the 13th Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) at the Jakarta International Convention Center (JICC) in Jakarta on 15 October.

In this context, West Java offers lessons through its success in winning the overall title at the Adinata Syariah Awards in 2025 and 2026. The achievement reflects efforts to build an integrated Sharia economy ecosystem, from strengthening human resources to ensuring the continuity of regional policies.

Many regions have Sharia economy programmes, but not all succeed in establishing links between them. West Java’s retention of the overall title demonstrates consistency in its Sharia economy development.

This achievement shows that Sharia economy development cannot be carried out on a sector-by-sector basis alone; it requires an ecosystem whose components reinforce one another from upstream to downstream.

A closer analysis reveals five stages in the transformation of West Java’s Sharia economy ecosystem: 1) laying the foundations in people and culture; 2) fostering entrepreneurs and innovators; 3) developing industry and global competitiveness; 4) promoting inclusive growth; and 5) creating markets and ensuring their sustainability through integrated regional planning.

The five stages complement one another and cannot stand alone. Together, they form a continuous development pathway. If one link is broken, Sharia economy development risks stalling at short-term programmes. Such programmes would then be unable to generate sustainable economic impact.