Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today hosted the first Majlis Jalinan Kerjasama iTEKAD. The event aims to provide a platform to dialogue and strengthen the commitment for sustainable socioeconomic development through social finance. Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim delivered his keynote address at the event. More than 300 current and future collaborators and implementation partners attended the event comprising iTEKAD participants, financial institutions (FIs), State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs), corporates, government agencies and government-linked companies (GLCs).

The iTEKAD initiative was introduced by BNM during the pandemic to assist low-income microentrepreneurs strengthen their financial management and business acumen towards generating sustainable income.  This is also aligned to the strategic thrust of Financial Sector Blueprint 2022 – 2026 in elevating the financial well-being of households and businesses.

This initiative combines philanthropic and commercial funds in a form of blended finance to provide structured training, seed capital and microfinancing to the target segments. As of May 2023, over 3,000 microentrepreneurs have benefited from the program with improved financial resilience. At the same time, many participants have created jobs and provided economic opportunity within their respective communities.

To date, iTEKAD has 11 participating FIs nationwide and over 50 implementation partners. The participating FIs are Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad, Agrobank, Bank Simpanan Nasional, RHB Islamic Bank Berhad, AmBank Islamic Berhad, SME Bank, Public Islamic Bank and Maybank Islamic Berhad. New implementation partners include Koperasi Usahawan Serikandi Johor (KUSERI), Sekretariat Usahawan Negeri Perak (STEP), Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan (FELDA), Majlis Agama Islam Melaka (MAIM), Majlis Ugama Islam dan Adat Resam Melayu Pahang (MUIP), Majlis Ugama Islam Sabah (MUIS), Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak (TBS) and MADCash Sdn. Bhd.  A broader stakeholder network will enhance funding, market access and impact monitoring towards uplifting microentrepreneurs in Malaysia. By end of the year, participating FIs together with their respective implementation partners have committed to onboard over 4,000 iTEKAD participants.

Stakeholders including corporates from the public and private sectors are encouraged to contact any of the participating FIs to be part of the iTEKAD initiative.

For more information on iTEKAD, please visit bnm.gov.my/social-finance.

BNM Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour delivering his Welcoming Address at the Majlis Jalinan Kerjasama iTEKAD

Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim delivering his Keynote Address at the Majlis Jalinan Kerjasama iTEKAD

Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim (centre) and BNM Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour (sixth from left) together with collaborators and implementation partners of ITEKAD

BNM Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour (second left), Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim (centre), Deputy Minister of Finance I Datuk Seri Ahmad bin Maslan (second right) and Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development YB Senator Saraswathy a/p Kandasami (far right) engaging one of the beneficiaries of iTEKAD.