Innovation in productive waqf management has successfully led students of the Islamic Economics Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Universitas Airlangga to achieve the highest achievement at the 3rd International Islamic Finance Olympiad (IIFO) held on July 17–20, 2025, at KTO Karatay Universitesi, Konya, Turkey.
In the Poster Competition, Universitas Airlangga delegation team won the Gold Medal with their work entitled "Waqf Mutual Growth Fund (WMGF): Enhancing Waqf Potential into Impactful Education Quality through Mutual Funds Investment." The team consists of three students from the class of 2023: Abu Shidqi Alhafiz (Islamic Economics 2023), Alwi Muharam Fuady (Islamic Economics 2023), and Zidane Yusavito (Islamic Economics 2023)
This poster showcases the concept of a cash waqf-based Islamic financial instrument managed through a sharia-compliant mutual fund. The WMGF is designed to collect waqf funds from the public and then professionally invest them in halal and productive portfolios, such as sovereign sukuk (Islamic bonds), sharia-compliant stocks, halal infrastructure projects, and green investments.
The investment return distribution scheme is designed proportionally and has an impact:
• 60% for social education programs (scholarships, educational infrastructure, and learning tools),
• 30% for sustainable reinvestment so that waqf funds continue to grow,
• 10% to support nazir operations and investment management.
This idea was born in response to three major challenges facing Indonesia, namely low sharia financial literacy, the realization of cash waqf which is still below 2% of the national potential, and the low quality of education as reflected in the ratio of education spending to GDP of only 1.3%, far below the global average of 4.4%.
"WMGF offers an innovative solution with an impact investing approach, linking social participation through waqf with improving the quality of education. Through a transparent and sharia-compliant investment scheme, the community can contribute to education while simultaneously earning ongoing rewards," said Abu Shidqi Alhafiz, team leader.
He also emphasized that this work was compiled with the hope that it could be implemented in real terms, not only to fulfill the competition criteria, but also as a form of contribution from the younger generation in responding to the nation's challenges through Islamic financial solutions that have long-term impacts.
This gold medal achievement confirms the commitment of Islamic Economics students of FEB UNAIR in presenting applicable, solution-oriented ideas that are oriented towards sharia values that can provide direct benefits to the wider community, both at the national and global levels.