Rumah Wakaf and MES West Java Launch Endowment Fund to Support Sustainable Development
In an effort to build organisational independence and strengthen the sharia economic and financial ecosystem at the regional level, Rumah Wakaf has officially entered into a strategic partnership with the Regional Board of the Islamic Economic Society (MES) of West Java. This collaboration focuses on managing a productive waqf-based Endowment Fund and enhancing public literacy on sharia economics. The launch of this strategic partnership was part of the agenda for the Inauguration, Seminar, and Regional Work Gathering (Silakwil) of the West Java MES Regional Board for the 1448-1451 H period, held in Bandung on Saturday. Carrying the theme ‘Synergy of Sharia Economy and Green Economy in Realising Sustainable Development in West Java’, this cooperation aligns with the national development direction in promoting a fair, inclusive, and sustainable economy as mandated by Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. The initiation and scheme of this waqf-based Endowment Fund management also received direct appreciation from the Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono. During the launch of the endowment fund management synergy, Ferry symbolically expressed his support for strengthening the foundation of the sharia economy and the independence of community empowerment-based institutions. Through this partnership, Rumah Wakaf acts as a professional nazhir that will manage the West Java MES Endowment Fund instrument. The results from the accumulation and productive management of the endowment fund will subsequently be utilised to support the operational sustainability programmes of the West Java MES organisation, social actions, and massive dissemination of sharia economic literacy to the wider community. ‘This cooperation is a real step in how cash waqf and productive waqf instruments can serve as financial solutions that are not only of worship value but also provide a systematic impact on institutional independence and strengthening public economic literacy,’ said Rendi Septiyan Nugraha, CEO of Rumah Wakaf. The presence of this Endowment Fund management innovation is expected to answer the challenge of ensuring organisations like MES are not merely academic discussion spaces, but are tangibly present in driving the people’s economic wheel. The inauguration and signing of this cooperation were witnessed by regional leaders and West Java sharia financial stakeholders, including the Chairman of the West Java DPRD Asep Mulyadi, the Assistant for Economy and Development of West Java Province Sumasna, the Head of Bank Indonesia West Java Junanto Hendriawan, the Head of OJK West Java Darwisman, and the Chairman of West Java MES Harry Maksum along with all newly inaugurated board members. Through the synergy between Rumah Wakaf and West Java MES, this collaboration is expected to become a pilot model for strengthening sharia-based endowment fund governance in Indonesia, while accelerating the realisation of public welfare through green and sustainable economic principles.