Muhammadiyah to Serve as Model for Mosque-Based Cooperatives, with Potential for 12,000 Branches

The Ministry of Cooperatives (Kemenkop) has partnered with the Preaching Council of the Muhammadiyah Central Board (PP) to develop cooperatives based on places of worship, including mosques, as part of an effort to strengthen the economy of communities at the local level.

This collaboration was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Ministry of Cooperatives and the Muhammadiyah Preaching Council in Jakarta on Friday (18/09/2026).

The Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono, stated in a press release that the development of cooperatives based on places of worship will begin with mosque-based cooperatives.

According to Ferry, the development of mosque-based cooperatives can learn from the experience of cooperatives within Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), which have successfully grown to support community economic activities.

“We will encourage the establishment of cooperative business entities. It is hoped that this can be a good start to create a history of more modern and professional cooperative development in the future,” he said.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Quantum Institute Foundation, Akhyar Adi Hidayat, noted that the Muhammadiyah Preaching Council network, which encompasses approximately 12,000 mosques, has the potential to serve as a foundation for community-based cooperative development.

“There are 12,000 mosques under the Muhammadiyah Preaching Council, and all the participants or congregants are real. The data is collected within a single digital database,” he added.