CGC, StanChart funds for women entrepreneurs

WEALTH CREATION

Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd (CGC) and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd aim to disburse RM100 million in the next 18 months to women entrepreneurs.

In a statement released last Wednesday, CGC said the joint initiative, called the Portfolio Guarantee Scheme, is to support women entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized enterprises.

The scheme, the first of its kind, offers women entrepreneurs fast financial access and the opportunity to grow their business.

"Women are emerging as a significant economic force in Malaysia and progressively venturing into SMEs," said CGC managing director Datuk Wan Azhar Wan Ahmad in the statement.

He said based on research, there are close to 83,000 woman-owned enterprises, mainly in services, manufacturing and agriculture sectors, and the numbers are expected to increase.

Standard Chartered Malaysia country head of consumer banking Tiew Siew Chuen said the SME sector remains a major engine of the country's economic recovery and the bank would continue to facilitate and support its growth.

The scheme for women entrepreneurs offers a term financing facility ranging between RM100,000 and RM500,000, which provides working capital and financing of small and medium-sized enterprise asset acquisitions.

With CGC acting as the guarantee provider, the scheme is made available to women whose businesses have been operating for a minimum of five years and are seeking to expand.

It comes with additional benefits such as a one-year free insurance coverage of up to RM100,000.