MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malaysian Government Budgets $10m to Establish Microfinance Lender Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak reportedly has announced that the Malaysian government has injected USD 10 million to set up the nonprofit Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation (MCWEF) to provide microcredit to low-income Chinese women starting their own businesses. As of July 2010, Chinese make up the second-largest ethnic group in Malaysia, at approximately 24 percent of the country’s population. Depending on the type of business, the size of the microcredit loans is slated to range from MYR 5,000 (approximately USD 1,700) to MYR 10,000 (approximately USD 3,300) with three-year terms.

Prime Minister Najib said, “Such an approach could have a big impact on the micro credit scheme’s target group, besides saving costs for the government as it already had agencies managing microcredit schemes such as Tekun and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM). This way, we don’t need to provide the allocations for administration, to recruit more officers, to open a new office and so on.” Ms Jenny Lim, the Chairperson of MCWEF, said, “The foundation hopes to increase the number of women running their own businesses from 8 per cent to 35 per cent by 2020.”

By Carol Kim, Research Associate

About Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM): Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) is a private trust that was established in Malaysia in 1987. AIM operates as a microfinance institution (MFI) that provides capital financing, savings and healthcare financing assistance. According to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the US-based nonprofit data provider, AIM reported total assets of USD 461 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 275 million, 242,000 borrowers, 5.07 percent return on assets (ROA) and 30.10 return on equity (ROE) as of 2010.

Sources and Additional Resources:

Bernama.com: “Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation In Unique Partnership with Government, NGO – PM”, July 2011, http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=599567

All-China Women’s Federation: “Malaysian Gov’t Allocates US$10,000 to Chinese Women Entrepreneurs”, July 2011, http://www.womenofchina.cn/html/report/131729-1.htm

Wikipedia: “Demographics of Malaysia”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Malaysia

MicroCapital.org: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malaysian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) to Disburse $164m in Rural Sarawak Region”, June 10, 2011, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-malaysian-microfinance-institution-mfi-amanah-ikhtiar-malaysia-aim-to-disburse-164m-in-rural-sarawak-region/

MicroCapital.org: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Malaysian Microfinance Institution (MFI), Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), Claims “World’s Highest” Microcredit Repayment Rate of 99.2 Percent”, July 23, 2010, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-malaysian-microfinance-institution-mfi-amanah-ikhtiar-malaysia-aim-claims-worlds-highest-microcredit-repayment-rate-of-99-2-percent/

MicroCapital’s Universe Profile: Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Amanah+Ikhtiar+Malaysia+%28AIM%29

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

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