Funding Societies, a SME digital finance platform in Southeast Asia, has disbursed RM300 million in Islamic business financing to over 2,500 Malaysian MSMEs since launching its Islamic products in June 2023.
The company is focused on supporting underserved SMEs across Southeast Asia with a range of short-term financing solutions.
Funding Societies plans to forge new industry partnerships to extend its reach to underserved yet creditworthy SMEs, emphasising collaborations with financial institutions, fintechs, and corporates to advance the Malaysian economy.
It has partnered with organisations like Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia (CGC) on the Islamic SME Portfolio Guarantee (SME PG-i) Scheme, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) through the Global Technology Grant Programme, and SME Corporation Malaysia under the Bumiputera MSMEs Financing Initiative (BMFI).
Malaysia, a global leader in Islamic finance, underscores the importance of Shariah-compliant solutions to address the RM290 billion MSME financing gap identified by PwC for Securities Commission Malaysia.
In light of rising inflation and operational costs, ongoing financial support is crucial for SMEs, which are essential to Malaysia’s projected 4% – 5% GDP growth in 2024.
This growth offers significant opportunities for Malaysian MSMEs to leverage digital Islamic financing solutions.
Chai Kien Poon, Country Head, Funding Societies Malaysia, said,
“We are proud of the team for reaching another milestone, surpassing the RM300 million disbursement mark in just one year and providing access to financing for more than 2,500 MSMEs, well ahead of our targets.
This underscores the interest and demand for both Islamic financing and investment products. Islamic financing already constitutes 15% of our portfolio, and we aim to increase this to 50% by 2025.”
