Campaign kicks off with workshop for micro entrepreneurs
Maybank launched its month-long SME campaign today in support of ongoing efforts to provide SMEs with greater access to financing. The Maybank SME Month kicked off with a “Micro Entrepreneur Engagement Workshop”, which aims to provide budding entrepreneurs with the necessary financial and business knowledge to build up their businesses.
During the campaign period from 1 to 30 September 2019, Maybank will be offering exclusive offers as well as promotional rates for SME clients. In addition, a series of capacity and capability building programmes for SMEs covering topics such as financial literacy, business strategy, marketing and branding, and digitisation will be held throughout the country to enable SMEs to upskill their knowledge and look for opportunities to expand their businesses.
Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan, Maybank’s Head, Community Financial Services for Malaysia, Mr Thomas Tan, Director, Development Finance & Inclusion of Bank Negara Malaysia, CFS Malaysia, En Mohd Rithaudden Makip, Chief Ecosystem Development, SME Corp Malayia, Mr Leong Weng Choong, Chief Business Officer, Corporate Guarantee Corporation and En Adnan Sharif, Head SME Banking Maybank officially launched the campaign at Shah Alam Convention Center today.
In his speech Datuk Hamirullah said “Through the series of workshops that we have planned for this month and the rest of the year, we are hoping that SMEs will not only gain a better understanding of the requirements for financing, but also be able to network with their peers across different industries and develop new insights into building their businesses.
He added that the SME segment is a key focus for Maybank and its SME loans have grown healthily in the past few years, recording a 23% CAGR for 5 years between 2013-2018. “We are confident of meeting our target of providing RM35 billion financing to SME within 3 years. From 2018 to June 2019, we provided some RM13.4 billion in financing to more than 20,000 SMEs.”
SME loans accounted for about 23% of Maybank’s total loan portfolio in 2018.
Datuk Hamirullah added that many initiatives and innovations will continue to be implemented to drive this sector. This includes collaboration with Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) and Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Berhad (SJPP) to provide non-collateral financing to SME clients, which will benefit business owners who have no collateral to charge to the bank for financing. Maybank also has partnerships with various institutions such as the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) to provide exclusive financing package to eligible SMEs in this region.
He added that although the SME Month is only for a one-month period, continuous efforts and initiatives will be ongoing throughout the year to ensure that SMEs are able to avail themselves to the various programmes and products/services of the Bank at any time.
Apart from Shah Alam, the other SME programmes will be held in Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Alor Setar, Taiping, Kuala Terengganu, Melaka, Sungai Petani and Kuala Lumpur during the SME Month. The half-day workshops are open to all SMEs and are free of charge. Space is limited and participation is on a first-come first-served basis. More information on the workshops or offers during the SME Month can be obtained from the Maybank website at www.maybank2u.com.my or its social media platforms i.e. Facebook and Instagram.