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Islamic Finance
@ Halal | november-december . 2020
A smart turn for SMEs Expanding Malaysia ’ s halal ecosystem through a BizSmart ® Solution for SMEs
BY CAMILIA REZALI
The sphere of a halal ecosystem
has grown enormously be it in Muslim countries and even in non-Muslim countries due to the rising awareness of halal . The term ‘ Halal ’ itself is now moving beyond just merely a chord of religious observance . The global halal market is growing at an exponential rate driven by increasing demand from the Muslim as well as non-Muslim population .
The Group Chief Business Development Officer of Alliance Bank Fozia Amanulla said to @ Halal : “ The figures show that the global halal market size is expected to reach RM40trillion ( US $ 9.71 trillion ) by 2025 , with countries such as Malaysia , set to be in the lead in the coming years .”
The global Muslim expenditure across lifestyle sectors was RM8.7 trillion in 2017 , while the global halal food market reached a value of RM5.8 trillion in the same year . The projected market value is expected to reach
RM10.7 trillion by 2023 , exhibiting a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of more than 11 per cent from 2018 to 2023 .
For Malaysia , the government expects a moderate growth of three per cent equalling to RM42 billion for Malaysia ’ s halal export this year , marking a hefty shortfall from the country ’ s previous target . In 2019 , there were a total of 1,876 exporting companies of Malaysian halal products and surprisingly , 76.2 per cent ( 1,430 companies ) of the companies comprised small and medium enterprises ( SMEs ).
What Alliance Bank has to offer
In 2018 , only 8,120 companies , including SMEs , had received halal certification . It was one of the gaps highlighted by Fozia . Nonetheless , for Alliance Bank , this is seen as an untapped opportunity . She stated : “ For every 10 SMEs , only one is halal-certified . It is an area for businesses to tap into to emerge stronger post-pandemic . “ Even in Malaysia , the halal ecosystem concept is not as widely promoted . There is a lot of room to promote and make available the right halal ecosystem for the different segments of the SME market . This is where Alliance Bank came out with The BizSmart ® Solution portal - a ready platform for everyone to tab and get access for their needs ,” she added .
The BizSmart ® Solution portal
The BizSmart ® Solution portal was set up sometime towards the end of last year to provide SMEs with a platform to interact
Our Proposition Be Our Partner SME – Manages Your Business Better
Proof Point 1 Be part of the B2B Community We help you digitise your business
• A new platform to interact with the local • Digital ecosystem which gives clarity on providers of business products and solutions needs and requirements
• Leverage on each other ’ s strength and • Partners that provide attractive rates to customer base help digitise Fast-track your listing into larger e-commerce platform via our partners ( Shopee , Pybli , Astro and AirAsia OurShop )
2 Get new customers Retain You Employees with Benefits
• From the SME base of the bank • Banking benefits with fee waivers and
• From the SME visitors to the platform attractive rates
• Referrals from bank and other partners • Non-banking / lifestyle benefit from our partners
• Training to upskill and reskill resources
3 Get products and services at a preferential rate Expand Your Business
• Attractive rates to enhance your business • Gain access to the halal market from our trusted partners • Get halal certified
• Preferential rates from the Bank • Place your products abroad
• Be part of the halal ecosystem
4 Get Visibility Digitise you Banking Needs
• Joint webinars with the bank and other • Manage your operational cost better partners • Reduce branch visits with our digital eKYC
• Get into our social media platform to boost proposition your brand visibility with each other and obtain products and services within the community at a discounted rate . It also offers non-financial assistance . Through its Islamic arm , Alliance Islamic Bank offers a curated Halal-in-One proposition that offers business owners venturing into the halal space end-to-end solutions including business advisory , business matching services , shariah-compliant financing , and route to getting their products halal-certified . “ Our halal ecosystem comprises strategic partners with various halal-centric expertise to help business owners expand their business in this sector with ease . These include halal logistics and halal business magazine profiling , and more importantly product distribution . “ We continuously enhance this ecosystem platform with new partners to ensure we cover all the key enablers in a halal ecosystem as well as provide more options to SMEs ,” she added .
Alliance Bank recognised there is a lack of a one-stop centre for the Businessto-Business ( B2B ) segment to grow their business further based on its customer ’ s feedback . The feedback also indicated SMEs needed help to identify what is available in the local B2B community and how to grow their business via digitalisation .
Expanding Malaysia ’ s halal ecosystem through a BizSmart ® Solution for SMEs
The B2B platform focuses on four key areas - to reach and engage new customers , transform the business , optimise resources and operation , and upskill and retain key employees . “ Our mission at Alliance Bank is to Build Alliances to Improve Lives . As a bank that is focused on SMEs , we understand it is not easy to run a business now . That is why we are here to help and provide support for businesses to weather this storm , preserve jobs , and emerge stronger post-pandemic .
“ Some of the measures include providing our business customers with financial and non-financial assistance to help sustain them through the economic downturn caused by the pandemic . We started looking at different key areas , and one of the areas is , of course , the digital area ,” she added .
BNM Special aSSistance Funds to SMEs
Alliance Bank has been assisting in the form of loan moratoria , loan modifications , as well as BNM Special Assistance Funds to SMEs where it has approved over RM600million . Its main goal now is to extend payment relief assistance to all its customers ’ post-moratorium . Its unwavering support beyond financing for SMEs continues to the launch of # SupportLokal initiative earlier this year . It was an initiative to help local B2C businesses widen their customer reach by taking their businesses online .
“ We provide free digital marketing and branding for local businesses to showcase their products and services on our corporate website at # SupportLokal Online Bazaar and our social media channels . “ We also help to fast-track the listing of their products and services on popular e-commerce sites , through our partnerships such as Shopee , Pybli , Astro and AirAsia OurShop . On top of that , it also offers the local business owners e-learning tools such as webinars , and access to subject matter experts so they can upskill , scale-up and sustain their online business .
“ It is important for the SMEs to know they have a lot of help today from the government , from the regulators , from the Central Bank , the bankers as well as the community at large . So , to me , the way we ( Alliance Bank ) are reaching out is more relevant for the SMEs ,” Fozia concluded .