Menkop: Islamic Finance and the Real Sector Will Grow Together and Strengthen Each Other

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Minister of Cooperatives (Menkop) and Acting Chairman of the Sharia Economic Community (MES), Ferry Juliantono, stated that Islamic finance and the real sector will grow side by side and mutually strengthen each other. He also views that the development of literacy and inclusion in Islamic finance needs to be expanded to the village level. “Strengthening Islamic finance in this period cannot be separated from strengthening the real sector because essentially, that is where Islamic finance will grow side by side and mutually strengthen real economic activities, whether MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), the halal industry, or other productive businesses in society,” he said at the Closing Ceremony of the Sharia Finance Ramadan Gala (GERAK) 2026 in Jakarta on Thursday. In that context, he continued, the existence of Merah Putih Village/Urban Village Cooperatives (kopdes), with tens of thousands already established including physical buildings, warehouses, outlets, and supporting equipment, is hoped to become part of the ecosystem for developing literacy and the real sector within MES. With an integrated approach combining literacy, financing inclusion, and real sector strengthening, he is optimistic that kopdes will become centres for new sustainable Islamic economic growth. “If necessary, we will prioritise all UMKM products in the regions to fill the outlets in the village cooperatives, one of whose activities is modern-managed retail, numbering in the tens of thousands,” said Ferry. Therefore, he said the ministry will promote curation, incubation, and financing programmes for UMKM products. “UMKM across all regions don’t need to worry about their products not selling, because we guarantee they will be prioritised for sale in the outlets or shelves in the Merah Putih village/urban village cooperatives. This will also foster behaviour in our society that was previously just consumers, now developing into producers,” he stated. “There are many products that are actually very good in the regions that previously had difficulty entering retail outlets; now we open opportunities and will prioritise local products,” said the Menkop.