Agrobank Holds Engagement Session With Traders At Kelana Jaya Farmers’ Market

KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 (Bernama) -- Agrobank continued its efforts to engage with hawkers and petty traders through an engagement session at the Kelana Jaya Farmers’ Market in Petaling Jaya today, together with Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

Agrobank, in a statement, said its participation in the programme organised by the Finance Ministry was in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s call for financial institutions to reach out to small businesses and help them obtain capital to start or expand their operations.

It said that the session provided an opportunity for traders to share the day-to-day challenges they face, including rising operating costs, site rental expenses and market access constraints, enabling the bank to further enhance its financial and non-financial support for micro-entrepreneurs.

Agrobank president and group chief executive officer Datuk Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin, in the same statement, said that farmers’ markets not only serve as sales platforms for petty traders but also form an integral part of the local economic ecosystem.

“Ground engagement initiatives such as this are important to ensure traders have clear information on the facilities and assistance available to them, enabling them to make better financial decisions to grow their businesses,” he said.

Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah said Agrobank remains committed to engaging traders on the ground to better understand their actual needs and provide practical support tailored to the scale of their businesses.

He said such efforts are important in helping traders manage cash flow, adopt digitalisation in their business operations and build more sustainable enterprises.

In conjunction with the engagement session, Agrobank also set up a booth at the farmers’ market to provide information on its Agro Penjaja-i financing facility and other financial solutions suitable for petty traders.

Agrobank said it currently serves more than 15,000 customers in the hawker segment and will continue to expand its outreach to more hawkers and micro-entrepreneurs, in line with its role as an Islamic development financial institution providing more inclusive and relevant access to financial services for its target groups.

-- BERNAMA