# Government Financing and Guarantee Schemes for Malaysian SMEs

> A directory of the SME financing and guarantee schemes verifiable on official sites as at July 2026 — with eligibility, limits and the ones that have quietly been withdrawn.

- Category: business
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-20
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/business/sme-financing-malaysia

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Most SME financing directories are a list of scheme names harvested from press releases,
half of which no longer exist. This one was rebuilt from the administering bodies' own
sites in July 2026, and the most useful finding is what has quietly disappeared.

**Everything below was read off an official site. Where a figure could not be, it is
marked — and where a scheme could not be verified at all, it is not listed.**

## First, are you an SME?

Nearly every scheme uses the SME Corp definition. It has been **effective since 1 January
2014** and, despite the "2020" in SME Corp's own URL, **it did not change in 2020** — the
March 2026 document is a re-issue reflecting the council's rename to NESDC.

| Sector | SME ceiling | Micro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Manufacturing | Turnover ≤ RM50m **or** ≤ 200 full-time employees | < RM300k **or** < 5 employees |
| Services and other | Turnover ≤ RM20m **or** ≤ 75 full-time employees | < RM300k **or** < 5 employees |

Qualification is on a "whichever is lower" basis, and where the two criteria straddle
sizes, **the smaller size applies**. Exceeding both thresholds for **two consecutive years**
ends SME status. ACE and LEAP Market listed companies **are** SMEs; Main Market companies,
and subsidiaries of large firms, MNCs, GLCs, MKDs and state-owned enterprises, are not.

## Bank Negara's Fund for SMEs

Delivered through participating financial institutions, not by BNM directly. Total
allocated **RM34.9 billion**, with an aggregate cap of **RM5 million per SME and related
SMEs with common shareholders** across the whole Fund.

| Facility | Max per SME | Rate | Tenure | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SME Stabilisation Relief Facility | RM750,000 | up to 3.75% p.a. incl. 0.5% guarantee fee | up to 5 years | Open 15 May – 31 Dec 2026, RM5b allocation |
| Relief and Adaptation Facility (RAFt) | RM1m per financing type | Relief up to 3.5%, Adaptation up to 3% | up to 7 years | Available until 30 June 2027 |
| Micro Enterprises Facility | RM100,000 | set by the participating bank | up to 7 years | Open |
| PENJANA Tourism Financing | RM500,000 | up to **3.5%** for approvals to 31 December 2025; **rate for 2026 approvals not published** | up to 7 years | Open until fully utilised |

**SME SRF** targets SMEs materially affected by trade and supply-chain disruption from the
West Asia conflict beginning March 2026. Working capital only, no refinancing, with up to
80% guarantee from CGC or SJPP.

**RAFt** replaced the Disaster Relief Facility in August 2025. Relief financing is for
SMEs in NADMA-declared flood districts applying within 12 months of the flood and carries a
built-in six-month moratorium; adaptation financing is for previously flood-affected or
flood-prone SMEs investing to reduce flood risk.

> **Five facilities have been withdrawn without announcement.** Agrofood, High Tech and
> Green, Low Carbon Transition, Business Recapitalisation and SME Automation and
> Digitalisation are no longer displayed on BNM's page — their markup is present but
> commented out, and SME Bank's corresponding pages 404. Their brochure PDFs still resolve
> as unlinked orphans, which is why they keep appearing in directories. **Do not rely on
> them.** Note also that `bnm.gov.my/fund-for-smes` now 404s; the live path is
> `bnm.gov.my/funds4sme`.

Separately, BNM has announced **RM10 billion** of BNM-CGC portfolio guarantee schemes
across six themes (Micro, Startup, Sustainability, Frontier, Innovate, Resilience). Terms
sit on CGC's own site and are not verified here.

## SJPP guarantees

SJPP does not lend. It guarantees a portion of a bank's exposure so the bank will lend to a
business that cannot meet collateral requirements. You apply **through the bank**, not to
SJPP.

| Scheme | Coverage | Guarantee fee p.a. | Size | Window |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| GGSM 2026 (GGSM4) | up to 80% MSME focus sectors, 70% other, 70% mid-tier | 0.50% / 0.75% / 1.0% | up to RM20m MSME, RM30m mid-tier | to 30 June 2027 |
| GGSM3 | up to 80% Bumiputera, high-tech, halal, tourism; 70% or 60% other | 0.75% – 1.0% | up to RM20m, RM50m group | to 31 Dec 2026 |
| WCGS | 70% | 1.0% | RM100k – RM10m | to 31 Dec 2035 |
| WCGS-SU (start-up) | 70% | 0.75% | RM100k – RM500k | to 31 Dec 2035 |
| WCGS-B (Bumiputera) | 80% | 0.75% | RM100k – RM3m | to 31 Dec 2035 |
| WCGS-X (export) | 80% | 0.75% | RM100k – RM10m | to 31 Dec 2035 |
| WCGS-W (women) | 80% | 0.75% | RM100k – RM1m | to 31 Dec 2035 |
| ADGS (automation and digital) | 80% | 0.75% | RM100k – RM10m | to 31 Dec 2035 |

Fees are payable upfront. WCGS eligibility mirrors the SME Corp definition and requires at
least 51% Malaysian holding, excluding Main Market listed companies and subsidiaries of
MNCs, GLCs and state-owned enterprises. **WCGS-SU requires 6 months to 2 years in
operation** plus a site visit; WCGS-X requires 30% of turnover to be export-based.

## Development banks

**SME Bank** runs around 19 programmes. Concessionary fixed-rate examples: Social
Enterprise Financing 3.0–4.0% (RM100k–500k), Umbrella Financing 4.0% for Bumiputera-owned
businesses with no collateral (RM50k–1m), MySMELady 2.0 5.0% (RM100k–3m), Tourism 2026
4.0–5.5% (RM50k–20m). Others are priced at a spread to Base Financing Rate — but **SME Bank
does not publish the current BFR**, so those are spreads, not effective rates. Most
programmes require ≥51% Malaysian holding, ≥2 years in operation, and PLC or GLC
shareholding ≤20%.

**MDV** publishes an Effective Cost of Funds of **6.85% p.a., effective 1 January 2023**,
with a risk-based spread on top. Its National Energy Transition Facility offers up to
**RM50m per project** over 10 years for pre-commercialisation projects that are Malaysian
incorporated and **51% Malaysian-owned**. Its Energy Efficiency Financing has a RM200m
allocation, a 1% rate subsidy and 50% CGC guarantee, and notably carries **no foreign
shareholding restriction** — minimum paid-up capital RM100,000 and 5 employees.

## Grants and early-stage

**Cradle Fund.** CIP Spark up to **RM150,000** over 18 months, open to individuals (2+ per
team, at least one Malaysian) or entities under 5 years old with accumulated revenue below
RM3m, with no minimum paid-up capital. CIP Sprint up to **RM600,000** over 18 months,
**Sdn Bhd only**, at least 2 directors, ≥51% Malaysian-owned or majority Malaysian
employees, paid-up capital ≥RM10,000, under 7 years old, accumulated revenue ≤RM5m.
Applications route through `gms.cradle.com.my`. Neither page states whether applications
are open.

**MTDC.** Business Growth Fund up to **RM10m** (tech-based, ≥51% Malaysian, revenue above
RM1.5m and not loss-making). Business Start-up Fund up to **RM5m** or 90% of project cost,
interest-free, 18-month grace plus 5-year repayment. Aerospace Fund up to **RM10m** with
AS9100D or CAAM Part 145 certification. NTIS Fund grants: single-site 100% up to
**RM250,000**, commercialisation up to 70% capped at **RM4m**. SemiconStart Phase 1a up to
**RM1.0m**, Phase 1b up to **RM10.0m**, requiring TRL 3/4 or higher — and uniquely, if
under 51% Malaysian-owned, a minimum 1:3 foreign-to-local technical talent ratio.

> MTDC's High Technology Development Fund page still cites the **Companies Act 1965** and
> RMK-11 data. Treat it as stale.

**TEKUN Nasional.** Bumiputera and Malaysian-citizen focused microfinance, age 18–65,
paid-up capital ≤RM300,000, one financing per household, Tawarruq-based. TEKUN Niaga runs
RM1,000–100,000 over 6–120 months at **4% per year**; SPOT (online businesses) is **3%**;
SP-OKU is **2% up to RM10,000**. Kontrak-i funds government and GLC contracts up to
**RM200,000** at **1.5% per month**. A wakalah fee applies, from RM50 to RM500 by tier.

> **Three commonly listed TEKUN schemes do not exist on the current site.** TEMANITA has
> been replaced by TEMAN TEKUN / TEMAN 2.0, open to men and women. There is no "Skim
> Belia". The Indian community scheme is **SPUMI**, not SPUI.

## Common mistakes

**Applying to SJPP or BNM directly.** Both work through participating financial
institutions. You apply at a bank.

**Assuming a live application portal means a funded scheme.** Most of these bodies publish
no open or closed status. SemiconStart advertised itself as open two months past its own
closing date.

**Citing withdrawn BNM facilities.** The five listed above still surface in search because
their orphaned brochure PDFs still resolve.

**Ignoring the 51% Malaysian ownership condition.** It runs through almost every scheme
here and is the single biggest filter for foreign-founded companies. MDV's Energy
Efficiency Financing is a rare exception.

**Treating the RM5 million BNM cap as per facility.** It is an aggregate across the Fund,
and it catches related SMEs with common shareholders.

## What's next

Confirm your SME Corp band first, because it gates most of the list, and register your
status at `mybpi.smecorp.gov.my`. Then work backwards from what you need: a guarantee to
unlock a bank facility points to SJPP through your existing bank; concessionary working
capital points to the BNM Fund; capital expenditure or a technology project points to SME
Bank, MDV or MTDC; pre-revenue points to Cradle.

Verify the terms on the administering body's own page on the day you apply. Every figure
here carries a date for a reason.

## Sources

- BNM's Fund for SMEs — https://www.bnm.gov.my/funds4sme (Bank Negara Malaysia)
- Financing for Small and Medium Enterprises — https://www.bnm.gov.my/sme-financing (Bank Negara Malaysia)
- SME Stabilisation Relief Facility — FAQ — https://www.bnm.gov.my/documents/20124/6025157/smesrf-faq-en-15526.pdf (Bank Negara Malaysia)
- Guideline on SME Definition, updated March 2026 — https://smecorp.gov.my/images/pdf/2026/GuidelineonSMEDefinition_March2026N.pdf (SME Corp Malaysia)
- SJPP guarantee schemes — https://www.sjpp.com.my/ (Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan)
- Cradle CIP Sprint — https://www.cradle.com.my/cip-sprint/ (Cradle Fund)
- MTDC SemiconStart — https://www.mtdc.com.my/semiconstart/ (Malaysian Technology Development Corporation)
- TEKUN Nasional financing schemes — https://www.tekun.gov.my/?page_id=223 (TEKUN Nasional)

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Source of truth: https://github.com/negaraku-md/NegaraKu.md
License: CC BY-SA 4.0