“We are redesigning how we construct and roll out our SME funds,” she said, citing that only one-third of its RM1.5 billion allocation for SME Automation and Digitalisation Facility (ADF) has been taken up so far.

Established in March 2020, the ADF aims to encourage SMEs across sectors to automate processes and digitalise operations to increase productivity and efficiency.

“The lacklustre response for the fund could have been due to it not being aligned with what the SMEs are focused on.

“Perhaps they are not necessarily on the path of digitalisation.

“So, there is a lot to be done in terms of how we can align those imperatives for SMEs as well,” she said at the Sasana Symposium 2024 session entitled “The Role of Finance in Implementing Structural Reforms”.

Chew said the central bank is also working on how funds that come under BNM can be deployed in different ways to achieve a greater multiplier effect by combining some of the information barriers and utilising asset tokenisation to unlock collaterals.

She also noted that a larger portion of SME financing comes from the banks.

“Bank financing for SMEs constitutes about half the portfolio of the total business financing of the bank.

“Therefore, it is clearly in the interest of the banks to continue facilitating the SMEs,” she added.

Besides ADF, BNM also offered the RM1.1 billion High-Tech and Green Facility.

These initiatives were designed to help SMEs and innovative start-ups grow their businesses and invest in strategic sectors and technology fields (digital tech, green tech and biotech) for a sustainable and entrenched economic recovery.

In 2023, the Agro Facility, aimed at enhancing food production for Malaysia and export purposes, received an additional RM500 million, bringing its total allocation to RM2.5 billion, while the Business Recapitalisation Facility (BRF) was allocated RM1 billion.

BRF was introduced to support the growth of SMEs without increasing their indebtedness during the recovery phase.