SME Bank Malaysia nurtures young entrepreneurs via its signature CSR program

As a development financial institution, SME Bank’s mandate besides providing financing assistance, is to nurture and groom existing and potential entrepreneurs especially among the youth. In line with this aspiration, SME Bank Malaysia has introduced a signature corporate responsibility program focusing on nurturing and inculcating entrepreneurship among secondary school students in Malaysia. Aptly named “SME Bank Y-Biz Challenge”, this program is a competition to create and innovate new products and services that have the potential to be commercialized. The program has been organized with the full support by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia and other government agencies that are responsible in promoting creativity and innovations. To date, a total of 163 schools have participated with the involvement of 729 students and 163 teachers throughout Malaysia. In May 2013, the 2012 Champion of SME Bank Y-Biz Challenge, the Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor, won a Gold Medal under the Young Inventor Category in the European Exhibition of Creativity and Innovation in Romania, with their Smart Rollator product. The product was newly developed during the SME Bank Y-Biz Challenge 2012 and was later given some improvements for the competition. The success of Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor is a testimony of the success for SME Bank Y-Biz Challenge.