MATRADE, Bank Islam to assist SMEs on export activities

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd are collaborating to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during this challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two parties was inked at the sidelines of the launching of the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) 2021 yesterday.

MATRADE said the collaboration will focus on enhancing access for companies under Bank Islam's clienteles to export facilitation and for MATRADE members to gain greater opportunity to acquire export financing package of the bank.

It said Bank Islam will also introduce the SMEXpert Ecosystem platform to assist SMEs in embarking on export initiatives, sustaining their competitiveness in the digital transformation journey, and providing total financing solutions to SMEs and mid-tier companies for the global market.

MATRADE chief executive officer (CEO) Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz said the partnership is an important milestone to complement MATRADE's export facilitation services as this will further accelerate the internationalisation of SMEs and exporters.

"MATRADE is confident that this collaboration will intensify our support for SMEs exporters, which is vital to the growth of Malaysia's economy," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Bank Islam CEO Mohd Muazzam Mohamed said, through this MoU, the bank will provide a digital platform for SMEs via its mobile application (app) called SMEXpert.

The newly-launched app, amongst others, will provide a digital marketing platform to promote SMEs' products and services of various sectors, whether as a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-customer (B2C) platform.

SMEXpert will support the SMEs' business ecosystem and financial resources.

MATRADE said the collaboration would also support SMEs and mid-tier companies to remain competitive in the fast-changing market, including their digital transformation journey.

Many Malaysian companies, especially SMEs, are adversely affected by the pandemic, and international businesses are no exception.

"With a tight cash flow, exporters struggle to revive their export activities and maintain their export market overseas," it added.

-- BERNAMA