KUALA LUMPUR, February 9 – Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad (CGC) has launched Malaysia’s first SME Loan/Financing referral platform for the benefit of the country’s vibrant micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), commonly known as SMEs. The “imSME” platform would serve as an online one-stop-center for SME loan/financing by providing an array of financing products and services offered by the participating banks and agencies.
CGC targets over 2000 SMEs to benefit from the newly launched imSME by end of this year.
The imSME, represents “I am mSME” which covers micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. It is the first online SME loan/financing referral platform in the country, mooted by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and powered by CGC.
“What we are going to witness is another quantum leap in the SME ecosystem, where SMEs can explore various financing options offered by the banks and benefit from the financial products that suits them best, all in one single platform”, said Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani at the launch of imSME at Sasana Kijang, here today.
The imSME is targeted at all SMEs, currently facing difficulties in securing financing from the financial institutions (FIs), for various factors. It is a unique online platform that enable SMEs to search and find loan/financing product that best fits their needs, faster and at their convenience. The effort is to further strengthen the SMEs’ self-service capabilities while enhancing their total online experience in line with the central bank’s call for the SME sector to embrace financial technology (FinTech) to remain competitive.
Currently, there are fourteen (14) financial institutions (FIs) and development financial institutions (DFIs) participating in the imSME namely; Affin Bank Berhad (Affin Bank), AmBank (M) Berhad (AmBank), Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad (AgroBank), Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad (Bank Rakyat), CIMB Bank Berhad (CIMB), Hong Leong Bank, Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC), OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad, Public Bank Berhad, Public Islamic Bank Berhad, RHB Bank Berhad (RHB), and SME Bank.
In total, these 14 FIs and DFIs have a network of over 2,400 branches throughout Malaysia and over 60 financial products for SMEs hence making it easy for SMEs to discuss with their preferred financier once the match is selected.
“This is just the beginning of imSME which will be developed in three (3) phases. Currently, we are launching phase one (1) with search, referral and matching capabilities. Further enhancements in the next two (2) phases will include psychometric assessment, These enhancements are expected to take place within the next 24 months,” said CGC’s Chairman, Dato ‘Agil Natt.
CGC President/CEO, Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak said the launch of imSME underlines the aspirations of CGC to bridge the financing gap for SMEs by offering financing products and services of participating FIs and DFIs on the imSME platform.
“We want to redefine the SME financing landscape in Malaysia to keep up with evolving global trends. This is an opportunity not just for the SMEs, but also for the young and emerging entrepreneurs in Malaysia to connect their businesses with the right financing options for future growth,” said Zamree.
CGC has also set up an imSME Financial Advisory Team to assist SMEs who are unable to find their financing product match in imSME or whose applications through imSME were not approved by the FIs. The imSME Financial Advisory Team will diagnose the cases and make recommendations for capacity building programs or alternate financing accordingly.
Currently, our partnering agencies with capacity building programs are Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research (CEDAR), Institut Keusahawanan Negara (INSKEN) and Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), SME Corp Malaysia as well as peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platforms licensed by Securities Commission of Malaysia namely Fundaztic by Peoplender Sdn Bhd, Funding Societies Malaysia by Modalku Ventures Sdn Bhd and QuicKash by ManagePay Systems Bhd.
Since the soft launch in November 2017, 321 SMEs have submitted their applications of which 64 matched with the available products at imSME, and five (5) were approved, valued over RM500,000.