THE hardy Gelam tree thrives in harsh conditions, adapting to acidic peat, stagnant water and surviving fires by shedding its bark, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Sri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour.
This metaphor set the tone at the 31st annual awards ceremony hosted by Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC), which celebrated top-performing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and financial institution partners while rolling out new financial infrastructure designed to catalyse future economic growth.
The message was clear: long-term enterprise success hinges on deep-seated resilience, character and ecosystem-wide collaboration.
For Malaysia’s MSMEs, that resilience is increasingly being tested by geopolitical uncertainty, rapid technological change and climate-related disruptions.
These shifts, Abdul Rasheed said in his speech, are reshaping supply chains and customer behaviour, requiring businesses to strengthen their capabilities to remain competitive.
“Malaysia enters this period from a position of strength, with the economy growing by 5.4% in the first quarter of 2026, and supported by resilient domestic demand and investment activity. Unemployment has declined to 2.9%, while inflation remains moderate at 1.6%.
“Central to our growth story are MSMEs, which account for about 40% of our gross domestic product and almost half of total employment,” Abdul Rasheed said.
As the country advances towards a more productive, competitive and sustainable economy, MSMEs will play a crucial role in driving this transformation by supporting domestic supply chains, creating goods and providing pathways for entrepreneurship and innovation, he added.
However, many MSMEs continue to face high input costs, tighter margins, supply chain disruptions and slower customer payments.
While acknowledging that targeted relief measures can help cushion cash flow pressures during disruptions, he noted that long-term resilience requires a shift in mindset.
“Temporary relief cannot be the long-term answer to recurring shocks; businesses must continue to adapt and improve productivity, while financing must evolve alongside them,” he added.
He stressed that risk-sharing mechanisms are crucial to broadening the financing frontier for viable firms lacking traditional credit histories.
“A young enterprise may have little credit history or limited collateral, yet possess strong cash flows. These businesses are not unviable; they are simply ‘less viable’ through traditional lenses.”
Reinforcing this message, CGC chairman Datuk Mohammed Hussein highlighted that while cash reserves and access to credit are vital, the character and agility of business owners ultimately dictate long-term endurance.
“Resilience is built in conduct, reflected in the numbers and revealed under pressure,” Hussein noted.
“In an increasingly dynamic business environment, long-term success extends beyond access to financing and technology. It is rooted in the discipline to persevere, the agility to adapt to change, and the commitment to honour responsibilities even in challenging times.”
He emphasised that building resilience requires a whole-of-ecosystem approach, involving government support, research institutes commercialising technology, corporates opening up supply chains and timely bank capital.
To address credit assessment challenges, CGC’s subsidiary, CGC Digital, introduced imSME, Malaysia’s first financing and loan referral platform. The platform provides businesses with an alternative channel to access financing and has attracted more than 148,000 registered MSMEs to date.
The platform enables MSMEs to explore a range of financing solutions and connect with suitable financing partners, including financial institutions, alternative financiers and government agencies.
Celebrating high-impact champions
The annual event saw 32 awards being presented to companies across three categories, including Top Financial Institution (FI) Partner and Non-FI Partner Awards, Citation of Merits, and SME Awards together with the Special Recognition Bumiputera Award.
Among the highlights were five Merdeka Awards honouring MSMEs with active Bumiputera participation across ownership and leadership, as well as the CGC Developmental Programmes Award celebrating standout enterprises achieving exceptional turnover growth.
Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd
clinched the Best Financial Partner and Top FI Partner (Conventional) awards. Alliance Bank group chief business and transaction banking officer Raymond Chui attributed the recognition to its ‘Bank for Life’ philosophy.
“We understand the pain points of SME customers across all stages - whether young, maturing, mid-tier or large,” Chui said. “We grow together with them to support their banking requirements every step of the way.”
To bridge the gap for smaller enterprises, Chui noted that Alliance Bank’s Digital SME segment offers collateral-free digital financing that requires only six months of bank statements.
CIMB Bank Bhd, which secured multiple honours including Best Financial Partner, Top FI Partner (Islamic) through CIMB Islamic and Citation of Merits in the mid-tier category, demonstrated the scale of financial deployment made possible through CGC guarantee schemes.
CIMB Bank chief executive officer Gurdip Singh Sidhu revealed that the group has delivered over RM2bil in CGC-backed financing to date.
“The award is a continuous recognition of our support for MSMEs, which are a key backbone of our economy. With CGC’s collaboration, we can provide funding to clients who might have struggled to get it on their own,” he noted.
A RM10bil boost for enterprise growth
Against this backdrop, CGC also took the opportunity to launch the BNM-CGC Portfolio Guarantee and Portfolio Guarantee-i Schemes, designed to ease MSMEs’ access to financing and strengthen their capacity to invest, grow and weather economic challenges.
The joint initiative is set to facilitate up to RM10bil in guaranteed financing through a risk-sharing model with participating financial institutions, benefiting approximately 12,100 MSMEs across key economic sectors.
Under the new scheme, eligible businesses can obtain up to RM10mil in financing per MSME, and feature flexible tenures of eight to 10 years and guarantee coverage of up to 85%.
The funds will support startups and businesses investing in sustainability, innovation, strategic sectors, food security and resilience against external shocks.
By combining accessible financing with practical business support, the initiative ensures Malaysia’s enterprises have the tools they need to adapt, scale and stay resilient in the face of economic shocks.
In his concluding speech, CGC president and chief executive officer Mohamed Nazri Omar noted that after providing financial assistance to more than 99,000 MSMEs and supporting over 161,000 MSMEs through developmental programmes in the past five years, the corporation is entering its next strategic phase: CGC 2030.
“Our measure of success will be showing impact – not just through touchpoints, but how those touchpoints eventually lead to successful and productive access to financing,” Nazri stated.
He added that the RM10bil guarantee scheme is just the start, supporting CGC’s 2030 strategy across three key areas: assisting MSMEs with low financial literacy and limited access to financing, supporting green financing, and strengthening high-value industries.
“We must show how to manage risk so that ‘less viable’ businesses can get the support they need. With our combined knowledge and data, I believe there is so much more potential we can achieve together.”
The awards night was attended by more than 300 key players from financial institutions, government agencies and the corporate sector.
