Empowering Women-Owned SME's Capabilities and Capacity
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| (centre) YAB Dato 'Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Dr. Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister launches Bank Islam's Women in Business (“WinBiz) Programme alongside with Encik Mohd Muazzam Mohamed, Chief Executive of Bank Islam (left) and Datuk Zamani Abdul Ghani, Chairman of Bank Islam (right) at Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur. |
Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad ("Bank Islam") today introduced a new programme dedicated for women entrepreneurs under the small and medium enterprises (“SME”) segment known as Women in Business (“WinBiz”).
The launch was officiated by YAB Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Dr. Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister who is also Minister of Women, Family and Community Development. Also present were Datuk Zamani Abdul Ghani, Chairman of Bank Islam and Encik Mohd Muazzam Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer of Bank Islam at Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur.
WinBiz programme offers a comprehensive range of banking facilities that meet the working capital requirements (WCR) and Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) of private limited women-owned businesses.
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| YAB Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Dr. Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister delivered her speech at the Launching Ceremony of Bank Islam Women in Business (“WinBiz) Programme at Kuala Lumpur |
YAB Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah said, “I urge financial institutions in Malaysia to follow Bank Islam’s lead and footsteps in introducing products and services that encourages women’s involvement in the field of entrepreneurship, particularly in small and medium enterprises.”
WinBiz programme aims to explore a new market segment that has significant growth potential, as well as increase access to financial solutions to a more specific SME segment.
According to Encik Mohd Muazzam, “Offering sophisticated products and services that are current and relevant to the present and future needs of our customers are a part of Bank Islam's Transformation journey.”
“We are very proud to be given the opportunity to introduce WinBiz to the market. Improvements will be undertaken gradually over time to expand the eligibility and offerings of related products,” he added.
As a start, the programme offerings include Business Financing Term-i facility with funding up to RM1 million, Bank Islam Visa Infinite Business Credit Card-i, Corporate Internet Banking and Payment Terminal facility, as well as SME Al-Awfar Investment Account and iGain SME Current Account.
Encik Mohd Muazzam mentioned that Bank Islam sees SMEs as a significant segment that has tremendous potential for growth.
“We expect the SME banking portfolio to increase by RM50 million over the next 12 months following the launch of the WinBiz programme today.
“In line with our vision to become The Bank that Advances Prosperity for All, we are committed to assist SMEs by offering innovative products that will enable their businesses to reach greater heights,” he said.
The WinBiz programme will be available in the market in October 2019.
