PETALING JAYA: Capital Markets Malaysia (CMM), an affiliate of Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), welcomes high-growth small and medium enterprises to its Elevate Programme, aimed at enabling businesses to successfully fundraise through the capital market and prepare for the next stage of growth.
Launched with the support of the SC and Bursa Malaysia, the programme lays the foundation for businesses to meet governance requirements and prepare organisations for the nuances of fundraising through the capital market, including potentially listing on the Main or ACE Market, which requires them to be more structured and visible to potential investors and financial intermediaries.
It is further intended to prepare senior leadership to inculcate an innovation mindset, to strengthen their business models and to learn to articulate a vision of growth.
CMM chairman and SC executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Awang Adek Hussin said, “The SC recognises the importance of SMEs to Malaysia’s economy and the need to address the supply-demand gap in financing. The capital market is well positioned to foster investor confidence and attract capital to support further growth of our high potential small businesses.”
CMM’s programme, he added, is designed to meet the needs of businesses looking to scale up, raise capital or embark on their IPO journey. “Against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive global marketplace, our aim is to accelerate the advancement of Malaysia’s high-growth SMEs,” he said.
The programme is one of several initiatives driven by the SC and its affiliates to support SME access to capital market financing. In 2023 the SC signed a memorandum of understanding with SME Corp aimed at building a strong pipeline of capital-market ready MSMEs and to boost access to financing for this important segment of the economy.
CMM board member Brahmal Vasudevan said CMM’s goal is to support high-growth Malaysian businesses and their leadership with the knowledge and network for their fund-raising needs and advancement.
The executive leadership programme is tailored for SMEs and mid-tier companies (MTCs) with an annual revenue above RM 5 million and is fully funded by CMM. The programme covers vital focus areas including design-thinking, branding, and marketing strategies as well as environmental, social and governance considerations.
The 10-day programme spanning four months culminates in an investors’ roadshow and opportunities for participating companies to network with and present to investors, venture capital and private equity firms.
The programme was first introduced in 2020 for MTCs preparing to enter the capital markets.
Since then, CMM has expanded the eligibility criteria for the latest instalment of the programme to broaden its reach and efficacy and has enhanced the programme design to ensure increased value for more SMEs and MTCs to derive substantial value from the programme.
