MDEC Partners Seven Financial Institutions To Expand SME Financing Access Through NEFX
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has partnered with seven financial institutions to expand financing opportunities for Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the National E-Invoice Financing Exchange (NEFX).
The seven pioneering financing partners are CIMB Bank Bhd, CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd, AFFIN Bank Bhd, Alliance Bank Bhd, Funding Societies, CapBay and Bettr.
In a statement today, MDEC, an agency under the Ministry of Digital, said NEFX aims to improve SME access to financing while addressing key challenges banks and other financial institutions face in assessing creditworthiness, managing lending risks, and evaluating repayment capacity.
MDEC chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah said NEFX seeks to address financing challenges faced by SMEs while enabling financial institutions to make more informed lending decisions.
“NEFX is not about relaxing lending standards. Instead, by leveraging trusted digital transaction data, it aims to provide greater transparency, support better-informed lending decisions and create opportunities for financial institutions to expand their SME financing portfolios while managing risks more effectively,” he said.
As Malaysia’s Peppol Authority, MDEC is advancing interoperable e-Invoicing to improve business efficiency and encourage digital adoption, with NEFX offering an additional incentive through potential access to financing.
Ganesh said MDEC is also advancing the National AI Compute Exchange (NACX), which aims to broaden access to artificial intelligence (AI) computing resources for Malaysian businesses.
“Together, both initiatives form part of MDEC’s wider strategy to help SMEs become more productive, competitive and ultimately AI-driven enterprises, supporting Malaysia’s ambition to become an AI Nation by 2030,” he added.
Meanwhile, MDEC acting chief executive officer Azlan Sharom said NEFX aims to provide financial institutions with greater visibility into business transactions through AI-enabled analysis.
He said involving financial institutions from the outset was important to ensure that NEFX meets their operational and lending requirements.
“By involving them from the outset, we can develop NEFX around these practical considerations while creating a more efficient and scalable financing ecosystem that benefits Malaysian businesses,” he added.
-- BERNAMA