Ponorogo–The Faculty of Economics and Business of the International Islamic University of Indonesia (FEB UIII) recently hosted the SantriPreneur Academy seminar and workshop in Ponorogo, East Java. Focused on the theme, “Incubation of Santri Socialpreneurs Based on Islamic Philanthropy,” the two-day event (September 26–27, 2025) was held at the Baitul Mukhlisin Mosque.

The program was initiated and led by Assoc. Prof. M. Luthfi Hamidi, Ph.D head of MA in Economics Program FEB UIII, with the support of three PhD Student in Economics, Haryani S Hartono (PhD in Economics, UIII 2024), Ananta Hagabean ( PhD in Economics, UIII 2024), and Abdul Karim Amin (PhD in Economics, UIII 2024), as part of their commitment to advancing academic and professional capacities in Islamic Economics and SocialPreneur.

The main goal was to foster an entrepreneurial spirit and character among santri (Islamic boarding school students) rooted in Islamic principles, social impact, and philanthropy. The participants are from students and staff of seven pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) located in the Madiun Residency—covering the Madiun and Ponorogo areas—along with students from UIN Ponorogo. Among participating institutions included Pesantren Muhammadiyah Boarding School Putra Ponorogo, Pesantren KH. Syamsudin Ponorogo, Pondok Pesantren Al-Iman, and Pondok Pesantren Subulul Huda Madiun. FEB UIII collaborated with UIN Kiai Ageng Muhammad Besari Ponorogo, BankZISKA Ponorogo, with support from BAZNAS Ponorogo.

Interactive Seminar

The SantriPreneur Academy featured two main components: an interactive seminar and an in-depth workshop. In the interactive seminar, participants received intensive training and understanding regarding the principles of Islamic Entrepreneurship from highly qualified and experienced speakers. Among the topics and speakers are Development of Social Business Ideas Based on Islamic Values (delivered by Assoc. Prof. M. Luthfi Hamidi, Ph.D, head of MA in Economics Program FEB UIII), Islamic Financial Literacy and Micro Business Management (Dr. Agus Edi Sumanto M.Sc, Director of BankZISKA LAZISMU East Java), Transformation from Mustahik to Muzakki: Roadmap for Santri-Sociopreneur (Dr. M. Asvin Abdur Rohman, M.P.d., V.P. II BAZNAS Ponorogo, Rector of INSURI Ponorogo, and Leader of Darur Ridlo Islamic Boarding School), Utilization of Islamic Philanthropic Instruments as an Alternative Financing (Faruq Ahmad Futaqi, M.E., Management Study Program, FEB UIN Kiai Ageng Muhammad Besari Ponorogo), Basic Concepts of Islamic Entrepreneurship and How to Start it (Ananta Hagabean, PhD Student, FEB UIII), Crafting the business model through Business Model Canvas (Abdul Karim Amin, PhD Student, FEB UII), and Haryani S Hartono, PhD Student FEB UIII, who act as a moderator for the whole activities and idea business reviewer.

In-Depth Workshop

In the subsequent workshop, participants were directly guided to discover business ideas, specifically those with significant social impact and alignment with Islamic values. They then evaluated these ideas and developed a business model using the Business Model Canvas (BMC). Participants were divided into groups based on their respective pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) and presented their models to a panel of judges and evaluators, who provided feedback and assessment.

The participants, who were almost entirely santri (Islamic boarding school students), gave overwhelmingly positive feedback on the event. “I am fortunate to participate this workshop as I now understand how to create and develop a business model from the scratch,” Ihsanul Mahmudi participant from Pesantren KH. Syamsudin Ponorogo said. “I acquired a lot of new knowledge, the organization of the event is “excellent and neat”. I really satisfied,” Nabila from Pesantren Aisyiah Qur’anic Boarding School Ponorogo added.

The seven groups of participants presented their business proposals. After the rigorous assessment based on the business idea, its social usefulness, ease of implementation, alignment with the participants’ interests, three group are selected as the winners. Pesantren Subulul Huda Madiun is the first winner with proposal ‘Multimedia for Santri’ followed by Pesantren al-Iman Putra in the second place with the proposal Market Place for Santri and Pesantren KH Syamsudin Ponorogo with business idea on ‘Nasi Timoer (Shifting a traditional Tiwul (cassava as main ingredient to be iconic food from Ponorogo).