Funding Societies Malaysia, the biggest digital finance platform for small and medium businesses in Southeast Asia, has made an official partnership with CEDAR. CEDAR is the training and support branch of SME Bank Malaysia.
Funding Societies said on Friday that through this partnership, they plan to provide up to MYR 50 million ($11.78 million) in loans to help Malaysian small and medium businesses connected to CEDAR get better access to credit. The partnership was confirmed in a recent signing ceremony.
This partnership is designed to help small and medium businesses (SMEs) in Malaysia who often struggle to get loans. In 2022, the financing gap for SMEs was estimated to be MYR 290 billion ($68.25 million), according to Securities Commission Malaysia.
The goal is to offer easy-to-access and personalized loan options, including Shariah-compliant payables financing, receivables financing, and term loans. They will use digital tools and new ways to check credit scores.
Funding Societies will offer these loans mainly to businesses that work with government agencies, government-linked companies, and big multinational companies.
“We are honoured to partner with CEDAR, a long-standing advocate of SME development,
“This Agreement reflects our shared commitment to improve financial access for local businesses,” said Chai Kien Poon, Country Head of Funding Societies Malaysia.
“By integrating with CEDAR’s digital platforms and reaching entrepreneurs through nationwide outreach, we hope to make financing more inclusive, fast, and tailored to the evolving needs of SMEs in Malaysia,” he added.
Amirul Imran Ahmat, CEO of CEDAR, said that as the training and support branch of SME Bank, they are committed to helping local entrepreneurs not just with money but with other support throughout their business journey.
He shared that CEDAR has trained over 83,000 entrepreneurs so far and aims to be Malaysia’s top center for helping entrepreneurs grow.
He added that the partnership with Funding Societies brings together easy access to funds with SME Bank’s digital tools and know-how to help small businesses grow in a fast-changing economy.
“Funding Societies’ customers can also leverage our robust digital platforms, particularly ScoreXcess – our financing portal for small and micro enterprises, powered by CEDAR,
“Together, we’re committed to accelerating entrepreneurial development and delivering tailored support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” he added.
Funding Societies and CEDAR will team up to hold events at 19 business centers across Malaysia. These events will help small businesses learn about managing money better and using digital tools.
Businesses that meet these requirements can apply for loans from this partnership:
- Sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, private limited companies (not part of a listed company), unlisted public companies, or listed companies and their subsidiaries
- Malaysians must own at least 30% of the business.
- The business earns at least 1 million ringgit ($240,000) a year.
- The business has been running for at least one year.
Funding Societies | Modalku is a FinTech company licensed in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, registered in Malaysia, and also operates in Vietnam.
Every year, the company provides about $1 billion in loans to help small and medium businesses grow.
Read more- DISG and Google Cloud Launch “AI Cloud Takeoff” to Boost AI Growth
