From left: Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak, president & CEO of CGC; Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of Axiata Digital and chairman of Boost Holdings; Leong Weng Choong, chief business officer of CGC and Sheyantha Abeykoon, CEO Boost Holdings.
KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Digital Capital Sdn Bhd (Aspirasi) has teamed up with Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC) for a potential digital bank guarantee.
Both companies had on Monday signed an MoU for the collaboration which encompasses two key parts.
The first is to 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.
The second is for Aspirasi to collaborate with CGC in taking up referrals to provide financing for eligible micro-small and medium enterprises (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, ” it said.
Aspirasi is a subsidiary of Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd, which is Axiata Digital’s fintech holding arm.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) aims to accelerate financial inclusion for the underserved and unserved segments.
The MoU was signed between CGC and Aspirasi, a homegrown digital brand established in 2019. Aspirasi provides fully digital micro-financing and micro-insurance solutions to financially assist and empower underserved MSMEs in the region.
The CEO of Axiata Digital and chairman of Boost Holdings, Mohd Khairil Abdullah said: “We are continuously looking for the right partners to enlarge our presence and collaboration with like-minded and experienced partners like CGC.
“The MoU with CGC today strengthens our ability to meet the financial requirements of the underserved and unserved segments.
“Over the last few years, our digital-first approach using AI and machine learning has enabled us to provide relevant solutions to solve pain points faced by MSMEs, and we have built a solid track record of serving the underserved, ” Khairil added.
Boost Holdings CEO Sheyantha Abeykoon said: “CGC and Boost Holdings share the same aspiration to promote financial inclusivity for MSMEs in support of their growth and development.
“This MoU complements our existing initiatives to finance micro entrepreneurs and businesses who lack access to traditional means through simple and convenient digital solutions available on their smartphones.
“The combination of Boost Holdings’ deep fintech and AI experiences and CGC’s credibility will expedite the growth of the ecosystem for a vibrant and competitive MSME landscape.”
President and CEO Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak 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 first online financing/loan referral platform. CGC made its maiden entry into FinTech with the launch of imSME on Feb 9, 2018, ” Zamree said.
