Ethis launches sadaqah crowdfunding platform for Indonesia

Photo: Photo: Children practice reading the quran in Jakarta July 19, 2012. REUTERS/Supri

Singapore-based Islamic crowdfunding company Ethis Ventures has launched a new platform to raise funds through sadaqah, or charitable donations, for social and religious projects in Indonesia.

Ethis will run SadaqahIndonesia.com in partnership with local payment app PayTren, which claims to have more than 1 million registered users. 

Current campaigns include raising funds to build a bridge for a village in Sulawesi and buying 40,000 qurans for students in 806 quran learning schools across Indonesia. 

The PayTren app was co-founded in 2013 by Hari Prabowo and Yusuf Mansur, who runs community charity and quran teaching organisation PPPA Darul Quran.

The app allows users to pay bills, buy flight and railway tickets, and make donations to charitable causes, among other features.

PayTren told local media in April it had applied to Indonesia's Ulama Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI) to certify its business as Shariah-compliant. It expects to be certified by July at the latest. 

(Reporting by Emmy Abdul Alim)

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