The IAEI Secretariat once again held Friday Booster, a regular internal study program held every Friday as a space for IAEI staff to share insights and real-life experiences from practitioners. In this session, IAEI presented M. Hasan Gaido, chairman of the halal industry and hajj ecosystem development committee, and founder of the Gaido Group, a sharia-compliant business ecosystem that began as a single hajj and umrah travel company in 2003 and has since expanded to encompass nine sectors, including travel, finance, healthcare, logistics, retail, culinary arts, media, tourism, and philanthropy. In his session, "The Gaido Ways," Hasan Gaido shared his journey, philosophy, and real-life lessons learned over two decades of building a business based on Islamic values.
Gaido Group did not start with an expansion goal. The three core values that have served as its compass from the beginning are worship, business, and da'wah. His core philosophy is that business is da'wah, work is worship, and economics is devotion. For the Gaido Group, these three principles are not just slogans but operating systems for recruiting people, making decisions, and determining the allocation of profits.
"If we view business as a form of da'wah (Islamic outreach), then our standard isn't just profit. Our standard is whether the business is beneficial, whether the process is halal, and whether the results are blessed," he explained. This approach ultimately shaped Gaido's model of economic justice, where the ecosystem is prioritized over the individual, value is distributed equitably, and blessings are systemic.
The Gaido Group has a roadmap extending until 2052 with a vision of making Indonesia the global center of the Islamic economy by 2045. To that end, he launched the national Gaido Connected movement, targeting the creation of one million Islamic economic entrepreneurs through four main strategies: digitalization, collaboration, recruitment, and globalization.
The two-decade journey hasn't always been smooth. When the COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted the travel industry, Gaido's diverse ecosystem became a lifeline. The logistics and retail sectors continued to operate while travel was forced to stop. "The ecosystem is not a marketing strategy. It's a protection system. If one sector is hit, others can support it," he said.
At the end of the session, Hasan Gaido addressed the younger generation, students, and secretariat staff who are part of the IAEI ecosystem. He stated that the most relevant roles for the current generation to play are in three areas: digital innovation, building halal startups, and developing a global mindset.
He concluded the session with a statement that has been a key thread throughout the Gaido Group's journey for over two decades. "Business is not just about profit, but about worship," he said.
Friday Booster is a regular internal study program at the IAEI Secretariat, which brings together practitioners, academics, and thinkers to share insights with IAEI staff as part of IAEI's commitment to fostering the development of intellectually capable, character-driven human resources ready to make a real contribution to Indonesia's sharia economic ecosystem.
