KUALA LUMPUR: Affin Bank Bhd has been recognised as the first Malaysian bank at the Global SME Finance Awards 2021 with an honourable mention under the Product Innovation of the Year category.
The accolade is for the development of Affin Bank's innovative digital flagship mobile app, the SME Colony.
Rolled out in 2019, SME Colony is the first SME community-centric mobile app in Malaysia to help SMEs improve business knowledge, enhance financial well-being and expand commercial networking through a digital platform at no cost and with no membership prerequisites.
As part of Affin Bank's environment, social, governance (ESG) efforts in assisting and contributing socially to the development of the SME community, the SME Colony app has been continuously enhanced based on market feedback and will continue to be upgraded in support of Malaysian SMEs.
Affin Bank president and group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali said this global recognition serves as the epitome of best practices when it comes to delivering a top-notch financial inclusive tool that supports the growth and sustainability of SMEs.
"While enhancing SMEs' financial literacy and boosting digital adoption remain key priorities for the bank, we aim to continue serving SMEs with differentiated products and offerings that are of relevance to SMEs – the backbone of our country's economic development," he said in a statement today.
Organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the SME Finance Forum, and endorsed by the G20's Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the Global SME Finance Awards was launched in 2018 and is back for the fourth year to celebrate the outstanding achievements of financial institutions and fintech companies in delivering exceptional products and services to the SMEs and helping them grow.
SME Finance Forum chief executive officer Matthew Gamser said every year more and more impressive institutions do incredible things to help improve SMEs access to finance.
"We see great innovations, we see new opportunities for redressing past imbalances due to gender, age and other
inequities and we see new ways to put the customer first and ensure that financing is responsible and truly beneficial.
"The 2021 competition brings us more of the same – bigger innovations, bigger
achievements, and bigger potential," he said.
The SME Colony app brings SMEs together across diverse industries to meaningfully engage and collaborate while enriching their knowledge through credible resources and expanding their business.
The app also offers products and services that go beyond typical banking services to
bolster their growth, including AFFINWRKFZ and AFFINGEM, as the bank's cornerstone for SMEs' long-term business resilience.
An "Honorable Mention" recognition under the "Product Innovation of the Year" category proves that Affin Bank has been and continues to be on the right track with its inclusive and sustainable approach in supporting SMEs and the ecosystem.
GPFI co-chair Anna Zelentsova said the G20's Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion is very pleased to see the innovations demonstrated by these competitors.
"They are helping tackle the short-term challenges of Covid-19 while encouraging the digitalisation of micro, small and medium enterprises that also will make them more finance-worthy and competitive over the longer term.
"As co-chair of the GPFI, I am very pleased to see the SME Finance Forum's annual competition continuing to bring out the best in the global SME finance Industry," she said.
In addition, fostering the SME community and building its resilience has always been Affin Bank's long-term goal since the establishment of its SME arm in 2017 – on par with the national entrepreneurship agenda and the UN Sustainability Development Goals.
With an increasing emphasis on ESG, Affin Bank has maintained and will continue the path of innovation to serve the SME community holistically from the get-go, in tandem with the Bank's customer-centric Always About You tagline.
"Building more resilient SMEs is critical to the world's economic recovery," said Paulo de Bolle, global senior director of the financial institutions group at IFC.
"The Global SME Finance Awards showcase innovative approaches that can contribute to this resilience and provide an opportunity to share knowledge and good practices," he said.