Indonesia strengthening zakat, waqf management; launching Islamic Economy roadmap next year: cen bank
Photo: Jakarta, Indonesia - July 14 2013: Cars captured in blurred motion around the Plaza Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta / AsiaTravel / Shutterstock.com
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s central bank will strengthen Islamic social finance instruments zakat and waqf to improve financial inclusion for the country's large low-income population and boost the country’s Islamic Economy development, Bank Indonesia governor Agus Martowardojo told Salaam Gateway.
According to Martowardojo, low income citizens, defined as individuals earning less than $4.50 a day, currently have no or little access to commercial finance and the central bank is working on plans to integrate Islamic commercial and social finance to improve their financial inclusion. There were an estimated 203 million low income people in Indonesia in 2015, equivalent to around 78 percent of the population.
“We will facilitate low income people by optimising zakat and waqf. We need to increase their welfare as well as their economic independence,” said Martowardojo.
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