The Impact of Z-Mart BAZNAS Program on Community Welfare Enhancement

Abstract

The number of people living under poverty in Indonesia in 2017 is 38.4 million. There are many factors contributing to cause poverty, including economic factors. Low income causes them to be unable to fulfill daily needs. One of the instruments that can be used to overcome poverty and empower people is zakat. Utilization of Zakat funds and infaq for productive enterprises is one of the important and strategic agenda in economic empowerment. BAZNAS through the Lembaga Pemberdayaan Ekonomi Mustahik (Eng: the organization of beneficiary economical empowerment; abv. LPEM) encourages the strengthening of mustahik (Eng: beneficiary of zakat) economy through strengthening retail businesses in the form of stalls or called Z-Mart. This program intensively carries out coaching and mentoring so that the businesses run by the beneficiaries could run progressively. The target of this program is to encourage mustahik to transform into muzaki (Eng: zakat giver) with the standard had kifayah and SDGs in the 1st Goal (No Poverty) to reduce poverty. The purpose of this study was to observe the impact of the Z-Mart Program on improving the economy of the poor. This research was conducted in May 2019 in Bandung Region. The sample of this study were 21 Z-Mart Program Beneficiaries. Data was collected by in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) methods. The measurement of the impact of the Z-Mart program is carried out using the Social Return on Investment (SROI) method suggested by the SROI UK Network (Social Value International). The results showed that overall, since the implementation of the Z-Mart program, the SROI value was 0.91. This means that during 1 year of the program, every IDR 1 invested has benefit of IDR 0.91. This value shows that socially to return the value invested in the Z-Mart program takes more than 1 year. Nevertheless, the results of the study show that the Z-Mart program has succeeded in increasing Mustahik's welfare through increased income, decreased moneylender practices, and increased social attitudes with infaq (Eng: the practice of giving) and alms practices.