Alliance Bank Broadens Access to Financing to MSMEs Via Partnership With SOLV Malaysia

THE BANK IS THE FIRST BANK IN MALAYSIA TO WORK WITH SOLV MALAYSIA, A BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS E-COMMERCE PLATFORM, TO OFFER FINANCING AND BROADEN ACCESS TO CREDIT FACILITIES TO HELP MSMES ACCELERATE GROWTH

Kuala Lumpur, 24 May 2023 - Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (“Alliance Bank” or the “Bank”) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with SOLV Malaysia to broaden reach to help Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) accelerate growth via a business-to-business supply chain financing programme.

Alliance Bank is the first bank to provide invoice financing to MSMEs on SOLV’s platform to help ease their cash flow and fund purchases from manufacturers and distributers without the need of going to a physical bank branch. The seamless access to digital financial services will help address liquidity challenges to MSMEs who are tech savvy.

MSMEs within the supply chain on SOLV can obtain invoice financing of up to RM200,000 through the Bank’s Digital SME Trust Receipt Facility and enjoy fast approvals within as early as 2 working days using only 1 document which is their past 6 months bank statement. This will enable MSMEs to manage their working capital more effectively and increase inventory levels to seize business opportunities. The partnership aims to broaden access to credit facilities using alternative data points through the platform.

”The Bank’s MSME Business Outlook 2023 – Malaysia report published in February this year revealed that MSMEs face various challenges such as limited access to capital and difficulties navigating complex financial regulations. We understand their different challenges and want to help them succeed due to their vital role in growing the Malaysian economy by providing them with access to key support structures that extend to the entire supply chain. We tailor our customer-centric solutions to meet MSMEs’ needs. This alliance with SOLV is also in line with the Bank’s refreshed strategy, Acceler8, to leverage partnerships to continue our velocity in the SME segment,” said Mr. Raymond Chui, Group Chief SME & Commercial Banking Officer of Alliance Bank.

The MoU paves the way for SOLV’s MSMEs to obtain financing based on their account receivables from large corporate buyers, or “anchors”, providing them with working capital. The anchor-led financing will help MSMEs cultivate creditworthiness behaviour and build credit profiles, facilitating the access to financing on their own merit in the future.

“SC Ventures has incubated SOLV in Malaysia to support our clients who are increasingly looking for new solutions to address their e-commerce and financial needs for greater efficiency and growth within the small and medium-sized enterprise community. Ultimately, we want to combine new technologies and innovation to help transform businesses and enable growth to help them succeed,” said Ms. Wendy Ang, Venture Lead of SOLV Malaysia.

Under the Acceler8 strategy, Alliance Bank focuses on continuous digital transformation and offers innovative solutions that are fast and personalised to meet the evolving needs of customers. Alliance Bank’s initiatives such as the BizSmart® Solution Portal, #SupportLokal and BeESG provide businesses with a broad suite of financial and non-financial solutions to support them throughout their life cycle including SMEs that are transitioning towards more sustainable business practices.

For more information on Alliance Bank Digital SME, please visit https://www.alliancebank.com.my/digitalsme.

Mr. Raymond Chui, Group Chief SME & Commercial Banking Officer of Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (second from left) and Ms. Wendy Ang, Venture Lead of SOLV Malaysia (second from right) signed the MoU as the first bank to help broaden access to financing to MSMEs on the SOLV B2B e-commerce platform. The signing was witnessed by Mr. Kevin Shum, Head of Digital SME of Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (left) and Ms. Chan Tse Ning, Head of Financial Services & Product of SOLV Malaysia (right).