SME Bank Records Stellar 1H 2025 Progress, Empowering 5,735 Entrepreneurs With A 158% Year On Year Growth

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia (“SME Bank”), a subsidiary of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (“BPMB”), today announced its beyond financing developmental achievements for the first half of 2025 (“1H 2025”). This strong performance reflects SME Bank’s continued alignment with Bank Negara Malaysia’s (“BNM”) Performance Measurement Framework (“PMF”) and the Government’s MADANI economic framework, reinforcing the Bank’s position as one of the nation’s leading Development Financial Institutions (“DFIs”) mandated to empower the entire SME ecosystem.

Delivering High-Impact Beyond Financing & Capacity Building Initiatives
Datuk Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of SME Bank said, “Reaffirming SME Bank’s mandate to creating broader developmental impact, we have successfully empowered 5,735 entrepreneurs in the 1H 2025 with the support of our dedicated capacity building and training arm, the Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research (“CEDAR”) as the lead implementer. This reflects a remarkable increase of 158% compared to 2,225 entrepreneurs recorded during the same period in 2024.”