News Focus – Indonesia’s halal exhibition in Bogor targets MSMEs to continue developing

Muslim LifeFair in Bogor, West Java province, will be held under the theme ‘Muslim MSMEs’ Festive’, presenting a number of programs that help MSMEs to develop their businesses.

 

Bogor, W Java (Indonesia Window) – One of Indonesia’s halal exhibition called Muslim LifeFair in Jakarta, on March 8-10, 2024 marked the start of the country’s ‘National Halal Fair’ campaign.

Afterwards, the series of Muslim LifeFair is expected to be held again at BRIN (the National Research and Innovation Agency) Cibinong, Bogor district, West Java, Indonesia on May 31–June 2, 2024.

According to event organizer Lima Event’s general manager, Ilham Pradipta, Muslim LifeFair – also known as MLF or Mufair – in Bogor would focus on MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises).

“The Muslim LifeFair in Jakarta carries the theme ‘Muslim Family’s Festive’, while the MLF which will be held in Bogor is specifically for MSMEs, so the theme we raise is ‘Muslim MSMEs’ Festive’,” he said in a special interview with Indonesia Window here, recently.

Therefore, he continued, the Mufair series in Bogor will provide booths with ‘affordable’ rent fee for MSMEs, and open special classes for soft skills that are useful for them to help develop their businesses.

“There will be classes such as those on video editing, copywriting, photography, how to make advertisements, and so on,” Ilham explained, while inviting stakeholders who have those skills and related community groups to open training classes at the event.

Even though the Muslim LifeFair in Bogor would be the first event in the MLF series, he was optimistic that the event would be lively and crowded because the enthusiasm of the locals for Muslim events and MSMEs exhibition is quite high.

“That’s why for Muslim LifeFair in Bogor, we are collaborating with KPMI (Indonesian Muslim Entrepreneurs Community) in the Bogor area because the community understands the market conditions, the characteristics of the locals, as well as company brands and products which are attractive to people,” Ilham said.

Ilham hoped that Muslim LifeFair become a dynamic event, eagerly awaited by people, both visitors and exhibitors, as it will provide great benefits, and even increase values in the economic sector.

“With this event, we also expect that halal literacy increase as we can learn to do businesses in accordance with the Islamic law,” he said.

After Bogor, Muslim LifeFair is scheduled to be held at Tangerang city, Banten province, on August 30 –September 1, followed by in Bandung city, West Java, on November 29 –December 1, and back to Jakarta on December 27-29, 2024.

Meanwhile, during the month of Ramadan 1445 Hijriah, the ‘National Halal Fair’, which is a national campaign to increase public literacy regarding sharia economics and finance, will be held simultaneously in several provinces throughout Indonesia.

“The hope is that it can also improve the image and visibility of halal products so as to support Indonesia’s vision as a leading halal producer in the world,” said Acting Executive Director of the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS), Taufik Hidayat, when opening the 2024 National Halal Fair activities at the Muslim LifeFair event at the JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta, on Friday (March 8).

He added that the National Halal Fair is also expected to increase sharia economic and financial literacy which includes and develops this sector to become part of the lifestyle of global society.

Taufik noted that in the 2023 State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) report, Indonesia ranked 3rd in the world in all sectors, which consist of halal foods and beverages, sharia finance, Muslim-friendly tourism, halal pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, Muslim fashion, and Muslim-friendly media and recreation.

Indonesia also ranked first as a Muslim-friendly tourist destination in the 2023 Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI), ranked 3rd in the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI) Report 2022, and ranked 3rd based on the Global Islamic Fintech Report Index 2023.

“The development of the sharia economy at the national level also shows good growth, where Indonesia’s total exports of halal products will reach 61.59 billion US dollars in 2022. On the other hand, Indonesia’s total sharia financial assets have reached 2,452.57 trillion rupiah or 10.81 percent of total national financial assets in September 2023,” Taufik said.

Sharia economic literacy in Indonesia has also increased, with the figure reaching 28.01 percent in 2023.

Taufik emphasized the importance of efforts to encourage sharia economic literacy in order to achieve the target of 50 percent by 2025 as set by Indonesia’s Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, who serves as the executive chairman of KNEKS.

*1 US dollar = 15,573 rupiah

Reporting by Bambang Purwanto