Axiata Digital, through its subsidiary Aspirasi, will be collaborating with the Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia (CGC) for a potential digital bank guarantee.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to accelerate financial inclusion for the underserved and unserved segments.
Aspirasi provides fully digital micro-financing and micro-insurance solutions to financially assist and empower underserved micro-small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region.
Through the MoU both entities will explore extending a Portfolio Guarantee for the future Digital Bank’s SME focused loans, which will be an extension of Aspirasi’s current discussions for a similar facility with CGC.
Aspirasi will also collaborate with CGC in taking up referrals to provide financing for eligible MSMEs without collateral. In connection with this CGC will onboard Aspirasi onto its imSME, an online one-stop platform that provides an array of financing products and services for MSMEs.
CGC made its maiden entry into the fintech ecosystem with the launch of imSME on 9 February 2018, and there are currently 26 participating financial institutions offering more than 60 financial products.
Axiata announced earlier this month that it has joined forces with RHB to jointly bid for Bank Negara Malaysia’s digital banking license.
Mohd Khairil Abdullah CEO of Axiata Digital and Chairman of Boost Holdings said,
“These (MSMEs) are precisely the segments that will benefit the most from a CGC guarantee, enabling them wider and more affordable access to transformative financing.
As we embark on our journey to build a digital bank, an established institution like CGC will further achieve our ambition to provide comprehensive digital financial services for the region.”
Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak, President and Chief Executive Officer said,
“CGC has held discussions with several digital banking license aspirants and looks forward to collaborating with digital banks once they commence operations. This MoU signifies the commitment to further promote the financial inclusion agenda.
CGC is optimistic of finalising the discussion leading to a Portfolio Guarantee Scheme with Axiata Digital for its Aspirasi product. We are also pleased to onboard Aspirasi on imSME – Malaysia’s 1st online financing/loan referral platform.
Featured image: Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak, President and Chief Executive Officer and Mohd Khairil Abdullah CEO of Axiata Digital and Chairman of Boost Holdings
