Ethnography Study in Designing Islamic Financial and Business Literacy for People with Disabilities

Abstract

Purpose  - This paper aims to evaluate the existing Islamic financial and business literacy for people with disabilities and propose a job and business recommendation to address different characteristics of the communities.

Methodology - Using the ethnography approach, this research focuses on people with disabilities in their diverse backgrounds of social, economic, and cultural settings. It includes participant observations and interviews accompanied by their family members or social care providers.

Findings  - The finding shows that the existing Islamic financial and business literacy for people with disabilities is still limited due to social gaps. There are tensions that exist in the dedifferentiation method whether they remain to be hopeless to earn more literacy and do their business independently. It is understood that the dedifferentiation has underestimated the people's experience in Islamic financial and business literacy with their types of disabilities.

Practical Implication  - The contribution of this paper is to propose a policy recommendation regarding professional support to ensure sustainable benefits from Islamic financial literacy, Islamic business, and job seeking that may improve the well-being of the communities.

Originality  - This paper details the only institution that has implemented an Islamic approach to financial literacy, business, and job seeking for people with disabilities through 25 events. These events included 12 on Islamic financial literacy, eight on Islamic business, and eight on job seeking, totaling 95 hours (89 hours offline and six hours online). The initiative successfully accommodated 4,540 participants from all provinces in Indonesia (3,410 offline and 1,130 online).

Keywords: Literacy, Islamic Finance, Islamic Business, People with Disabilities, Ethnography