Building a business in professional services

The development and growth of the professional services business in Malaysia is challenging where first-mover advantages in professional services development today offer the larger market players already established in this country the credibility driver so important in the marketing and growth of professional services. As credentialed individuals in your field of expertise, there is the tendency not to think of entrepreneurship in a market where such services have already been captured or traditionally been offered by the larger and more established practices. However, as the country evolves into a developed nation, the need to strengthen the services infrastructure to support an evolving service-driven economy calls for accelerated entrepreneurship with local market players in the services industry.

Building a professional service business offers advantages which other sectors may not possess. First, as you or your team of professionals are the primary drivers of the business, starting up requires a relatively low initial investment when compared to the manufacturing sector.

The smaller capital requirement also reduces the risks of changes in market and customer demand and the ability to adapt to new requirements when needed. However, while the risks are small in the professional services business, growth potential can be infinite in the fast-growing Malaysian economy – if your service is differentiated and there is a demand for the service. Success would depend on how competitive your offering and how fast you are committed to growing once your market responds.

Malaysia has built an impressive pool of world-class professionals and whether you are a healthcare provider, a lawyer, architect, auditor, designer, logistics expert or a management consultant, the SME Bank is committed to supporting your financing and business development needs. If you or your partners are interested in pursuing or growing your business, the SME Professional has been designed for you.

SME Classification	Micro	Small	Medium
SME Profile	Professional graduate on completion of compulsory job training / housemanship / chambering / articleship, etc. (if and where applicable). Professionals who wish to start their own private practice/company. Firm or company of professional services with less than two year track record and audited financial statements.	Professional services company seeking financing to support business operations. Professional services company with at least 2 years business track record and audited financial statements.	Professional services firm or company seeking financing to expand and accelerate business growth through opening of new branches. Professional services firm with high growth potential with at least 2 years profitable business track record.
Eligibility	Viable professional service ready for domestic market development.	Viable services already distributed locally but with new opportunities for market expansion and growth.	Viable products / services with new opportunities in local and international markets.

The SME Professional is unique in that it not only offers you the opportunity to access financing and business development expertise, but it is the objective of the SME Bank to match your competencies with not only with the service requirements of our own clients, but there is also the opportunity to support the service needs of other customers with our network of partners. At the startup phase, the SME Bank will assess the potential of your business to determine the type of assistance to be directed to you. However, if you already have an established business, so much the better as it will help us to accelerate the processing of your financial and business development requirements. For professionals with the track record, the SME Bank has established its Services Network to capture information on the services providers on a database to be matched with the existing and future service needs of our customers and those of our partners.

Special Funds

In addition, we may also be able to match your business requirements with the appropriate dedicated funds or programmes which are being channeled through the SME Bank and also through our partner organisations. The most important consideration is the competitiveness of your service offering (for start-ups) or the viability of your business (for small to medium sized enterprises). Depending on the business stage at which interest is registered, you may also be eligible for our other SME products and services such as the SME Start-Up, SME Franchise, SME Procurement and/or the SME Global. Again, our officers will be able to direct you to our other products on application.

SME Classification	Micro	Small	Medium
Type of Financing	Conventional and Islamic	Conventional and Islamic	Conventional and Islamic
Facilities	Term Loan Revolving Loan IHP / Leasing BG / Letter of Credit	Term Loan Revolving Loan IHP / Leasing BG / Letter of Credit Loan Stock	Term Loan Revolving Loan IHP / Leasing BG / Letter of Credit Loan Stock
Limit of Financing	Up to RM500,000 (for Special Programmes only)	Up to RM5 million	Up to RM10 million
Interest Rates	Competitive rates subject to terms of funds and risk ratings where applicable
Tenure	Up to a maximum of 15 years subject to assets financed Working capital up to 5 years, subject to annual review Up to a maximum of 3 years grace period
Method of Repayment	Monthly, Quarterly, Fixed or Contract Terms
Processing Fee	0.25% of approved loan

The Support Services

Chances are, you may have a marketable idea for a service - but you do not have a sound business plan. Or you may not have the knowledge and/or experience to structure a service business from planning through to financial and market management. While you may already be a service provider in your field of expertise, you may need the support of other business service providers in helping you grow your business either through financing or through further business development support. To ensure that the business growth path which you take is viable, the SME Bank will route you to the appropriate expert or service provider - should you require any knowledge or advisory assistance at point of application.

As a financial services institution, the delivery of integrated SME services requires the participation and commitment of a large network of national partners and service providers. We are therefore sourcing advisory services and facilities through our client and partner support infrastructure to help you move rapidly from idea generation to market reality. We hope that through the availability of these integrated financial and business development services, the SME Bank and its services network will collectively be able to enhance entrepreneurship across the five product groups by offering the right evaluation expertise and resources to all Malaysian SMEs.

SME Classification	Micro	Small	Medium
Business Advisory	Evaluation of Business Idea. Expert Endorsement. Business Planning. Financial Analysis. Market Opportunity Identification. Industry Expertise. Technical Expertise. Performance Review / Growth Monitoring. Business Rehabilitation / Recovery.	Business Plan Evaluation. Expert Endorsement. Industry Expertise. Technical Expertise. Financial Analysis. Market Opportunity Identification. Performance Review / Growth Monitoring. Business Rehabilitation / Recovery.	Business Plan Evaluation. Expert Endorsement. Industry Expertise. Technical Expertise. Financial Analysis. Intellectual Property and Trademark Protection. Product / Service Certification. Packaging and Visual Identity Design. Branding and Marketing Management. Performance Review / Growth Monitoring. Business Rehabilitation / Recovery.
Entrepreneurial Development	Incubation. KKB Programmes. Technical Matching Grants. Training Matching Grants.	KKB Programmes. Prototyping with strategic partners. Joint Promotions.	Graduation to SME Professional, SME Franchise, SME Procurement and/or SME Global
Knowledge Sharing	Industry / Market Research. Government / Non- Government SME support programmes. Business Matching Opportunities.

Note: Terms and conditions are subject to review and changes by the Bank

 Strategic Partners

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