Fadhlurrahman, Anik Ghufron, Arif Rohman, Siti Irene Astuti Dwiningrum, Abdulnassir Yassin, Desfa Yusmalianan, Agus Martins
Entrepreneurship education in pesantren offers a distinctive and underexplored pathway for empowering students as agents of socio-economic transformation. While previous studies on entrepreneurship education have largely focused on secular or higher education contexts, this study provides new insights into how Islamic boarding schools integrate entrepreneurial principles with spiritual and moral values to produce graduates who are both economically capable and ethically grounded. This novelty lies in examining the synergy between faith-based character formation and entrepreneurial competencies as a model for sustainable community development. Findings demonstrate that embedding Islamic ethics within entrepreneurial training fosters resilience, creativity, and a long-term sustainability mindset. Students are encouraged not only to create business ventures but also to prioritize community welfare, environmental stewardship, and inclusive growth. This approach strengthens the pesantren-based local economy by generating microenterprises and promoting selfreliance, while preserving the institution’s cultural and religious identity. The impact of this model extends beyond individual student success. It contributes to inclusive economic growth, reduces youth unemployment, and enhances social cohesion in rural and semi-urban areas where pesantren are deeply rooted. By aligning entrepreneurship education with national sustainable development goals, pesantren can serve as strategic partners in addressing structural socio-economic challenges. The study recommends policy interventions and multi-sectoral collaborations between pesantren, government agencies, and private industry to scale this model. Such efforts could position pesantren as innovation hubs that bridge traditional religious education with modern economic competitiveness, setting a precedent for other faith-based institutions globally. Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Graduate School, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), Mbale, Uganda; Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education (SHBIE) is a Graduate Faculty, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Universiti, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam; Institute of Business (IOB), Díli, Timor-Leste
