The halal business prospect in Indonesia is getting promising. It’s not only for the local business but also captures other global players.

WhatsHalal is one of the global players with interest in this sector. Based in Singapore, WhatsHalal is to enter the Indonesian market with services focus on halal certification system for food and beverages.

The government action to require halal-certified products in October 2019 under Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Guarantee is a great opportunity for WhatsHalal to focus on its services in Indonesia.

Blockchain technology

WhatsHalal has a platform that simplifies the end-to-end process of halal certification through blockchain technology. With this platform, WhatsHalal claims to be able to shorten the time needed for merchants to certify products and cut costs needed during the process.

Simply put, the blockchain technology on WhatsHalal platform allows a product to be tracked and recorded its halal level from farmers’ harvests, manufacturing processes, restaurants, and retailers, to consumers. In other words, the energy, cost, and time to test the halal content of a product can be saved because everything has been aggregated into the blockchain.

“The current halal certification process is very time consuming and requires a lot of paperwork. Starting from halal certification registration, testing, inspection and auditing of products and processes, to the approval and granting of halal certificates,” WhatsHalal’s Founder and CEO Azman Ivan Tan said.

The use of blockchain for halal certification is based on the amount of data collected, stored and processed in the certification process. In addition, the use of the blockchain aims to encourage aspects of transparency and security of their services.

“We believe the use and implementation of the blockchain technology still in its early stages. As there are many applications of this technology in other industries in the future, the use of the blockchain will become the main standard in terms of security and supply chain that requires trust,” Azman added.

Arrival in Indonesia

In fact, Indonesia is the largest halal food consuming country in the world. Stated as the largest Muslim population, the velocity of money for halal food in Indonesia annually reaches US$ 173 billion.

The obligation to hold halal certificates for all producers, including SMEs, is one of the ways the government boosts the growth of halal products in the country. No wonder WhatsHalal, which currently only operates in Singapore, immediately peddled its services in Indonesia after the second quarter of 2020.

“Our platform can also help merchants measure the halal content of their products for export, thereby helping business decision making and adding value in terms of production and sales of halal products,” Azman wrote to DailySocial.

Before officially launched in Indonesia, WhatsHalal made its first steps by joining the acceleration program of Plug and Play Indonesia. In addition, they also just announced their success in obtaining initial funding with an undisclosed value.

Furthermore, Azman said that his team is looking for collaboration to work with the authorities in Indonesia such as the Indonesian Ulema Council, the Halal Product Guarantee Agency (BPJH), and several stakeholders to pave their way.

“We have some good partners and contacts of companies and local organizations in the halal product network. This will help the implementation of our platform for big players and SMEs in Indonesia,” he added.

SMEs as significant target

It’s not surprising when Azman mentioned SMEs due to its large number in Indonesia. The JPH Law indeed obliges SMEs, as well as corporations, to comply with the implementation of this halal certification. This actually raises another problem for SMEs due to the time-consuming and high-costing process.

WhatsHalal took this as an opportunity. Due to a large number of SMEs in Indonesia at almost 60 million and only 8 percent go online. With the all-digital WhatsHalal platform and the government’s push to require halal certification, Azman is confident that he will succeed in Indonesia.

“Indonesia’s halal industry has great potential that local and domestic players are yet to realize. Therefore, we thought the rise of halal certification implementation and obligation is to drive the Indonesian market needed to become a global giant of halal products and support the development of the entire industry,” Azman said.

WhatsHalal’s arrival will enrich the digital ecosystem which focuses on the Islamic economy and halal products in Indonesia. In addition to Islamic financial products, halal food and beverages and the Umrah marketplace are the most potential sectors to be worked on in the country. With the increasing business based on sharia economics and halal products, WhatsHalal has at least succeeded to have the right momentum.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

Application Information Will Show Up Here

Prospek bisnis produk halal di Indonesia kian bersinar. Bisnis ini tak hanya menjanjikan para pelaku dalam negeri, tapi juga mengundang minat pemain dari luar negeri.

WhatsHalal adalah salah satu peminat bisnis produk halal dari luar negeri. Berasal dari Singapura, WhatsHalal segera masuk ke Indonesia dengan layanan yang berfokus pada layanan sertifikasi halal untuk produk makanan dan minuman.

Keputusan pemerintah untuk mewajibkan semua produk bersertifikasi halal pada Oktober 2019 berdasarkan UU Nomor 33 Tahun 2014 tentang Jaminan Produk Halal merupakan peluang besar WhatsHalal untuk memfokuskan layanannya di Indonesia.

Mengandalkan blockchain

WhatsHalal memiliki platform yang mempermudah proses sertifikasi halal dari hulu ke hilir melalui teknologi blockchain. Dengan platform tersebut, WhatsHalal mengklaim dapat mempersingkat waktu yang diperlukan merchant untuk sertifikasi produk dan memotong biaya yang dibutuhkan selama proses terjadi.

Sederhananya, blockchain di platform WhatsHalal memungkinkan sebuah produk dilacak dan dicatat kadar kehalalannya mulai dari hasil panen petani, proses manufaktur, restoran dan peritel, hingga di tangan konsumen. Dengan kata lain, tenaga, biaya, dan waktu untuk menguji kadar halal suatu produk bisa dipangkas karena semua sudah diagregasi ke dalam blockchain.

“Proses sertifikasi halal yang ada saat ini sangat menyedot tenaga dan waktu juga membutuhkan banyak sekali dokumen. Dimulai dari mendaftar untuk sertifikasi halal, pengujian, inspeksi dan audit terhadap produk dan prosesnya, sampai persetujuan dan pemberian sertifikat halal tersebut,” ujar Founder dan CEO WhatsHalal Azman Ivan Tan.

Penggunaan blockchain untuk sertifikasi halal ini didasari banyaknya data yang dikumpulkan, disimpan, dan diolah dalam proses sertifikasi. Selain itu pemanfaatan blockchain ini bertujuan mendorong aspek transparansi dan kemanan layanan mereka.

“Kami percaya penggunaan dan penerapan blockchain masih di tahap awal. Seiring banyaknya penerapan teknologi ini di industri lain di masa depan, penggunaan blockchain akan jadi standar utama dalam hal keamanan dan rantai suplai yang mana kepercayaan sangat penting di dalamnya,” imbuh Azman.

Menuju Indonesia

Perlu diingat bahwa Indonesia merupakan negara pengonsumsi makanan halal terbesar di dunia. Dengan status populasi muslim terbanyak, perputaran uang untuk makanan halal di Indonesia per tahun mencapai US$173 miliar.

Kewajiban memegang sertifikat halal untuk semua produsen, termasuk UKM, menjadi salah satu cara pemerintah menggenjot pertumbuhan produk halal di dalam negeri. Tak heran WhatsHalal, yang saat ini hanya beroperasi di Singapura, segera menjajakan layanannya di Indonesia setelah kuartal kedua 2020.

“Platform kami juga dapat membantu merchant mengukur kadar halal produk mereka untuk kebutuhan ekspor, sehingga membantu pengambilan keputusan bisnis dan memberi nilai tambah dalam hal produksi serta penjualan produk halal,” tulis Azman kepada DailySocial.

Sebelum resmi mengudara di Indonesia, WhatsHalal menyusun langkah pertamanya dengan bergabung ke program akselerasi milik Plug and Play Indonesia. Selain itu mereka juga baru mengumumkan keberhasilan mereka meraih pendanaan awal dengan nominal yang dirahasiakan.

Lebih jauh, Azman mengaku pihaknya sedang berusaha membuka komunikasi untuk bekerja sama dengan otoritas berwenang di Indonesia seperti Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Produk Halal (BPJH), dan beberapa pemangku kepentingan lain untuk memuluskan jalan mereka.

“Kami punya sejumlah mitra baik dan kontak yang terdiri dari perusahaan maupun organisasi lokal dalam jejaring produk halal. Ini akan membantu implementasi platform kami ke pemain besar serta UKM di Indonesia,” imbuhnya.

Signifikansi UKM

Penyebutan UKM oleh Azman tak mengejutkan lantaran jumlahnya yang begitu besar di Indonesia. UU JPH memang turut mewajibkan pelaku UMKM, juga korporasi, patuh terhadap pelaksanaan sertifikasi halal ini. Hal ini sejatinya memunculkan masalah tersendiri bagi pelaku UMKM karena prosesnya yang memakan waktu dan biaya.

WhatsHalal melihat ini sebagai peluang. Pasalnya jumlah UMKM di Indonesia hampir mencapai 60 juta dan hanya 8 persen yang sudah go online. Dengan platform WhatsHalal yang serba digital dan dorongan pemerintah mewajibkan sertifikasi halal ini, Azman yakin dapat sukses di Indonesia.

“Industri halal Indonesia punya potensi besar yang belum tersentuh untuk pemain lokal dan domestik. dan kami rasa meningkatnya implementasi dan kewajiban sertifikasi halal akan jadi pendorong yang dibutuhkan INdonesia menjadi raksasa global produk halal dan mendukung pengembangan seluruh industri ini,” pungkas Azman.

Kedatangan WhatsHalal ini akan memperkaya ekosistem digital yang berfokus di ekonomi syariah dan produk halal di Indonesia. Selain produk keuangan syariah, makanan dan minuman halal dan marketplace umrah merupakan sektor yang paling potensial untuk digarap di Tanah Air. Dengan meningkatnya intensitas bisnis berbasis ekonomi syariah dan produk halal ini, maka kehadiran WhatsHalal setidaknya berhasil mengantongi momentum yang tepat.