KUALA LUMPUR: There are still a lot of opportunities for financial institutions in Malaysia to grow especially in the area of small and medium enterprises (SME).
Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd group chief executive officer Joel Kornreich said the bank will still maintain its focus on SMEs lending business across all sectors despite it being competitive.
"Yes, SME lending is competitive now but we have always developed a long lasting relationships with our customers, some of which then became public listed entities," he said.
"It is these relationships that we have developed and will develop that we are relying on," he said.
Kornreich launched the second installment of Eco-Biz Dream Project, which is an initiative to enlist, encourage and nurture an environmental preservation culture among university students.
With the theme of 'Saving the Environment with Your Idea’, the competition aims to spark creativity among the young generation of social entrepreneurs to make a difference through developing sustainable business ideas that can positively impact the environment.
"We are very excited to continue to support the development of business ideas that can positively impact the Malaysian environment and communities through this project.
"We hold sustainability as an important piece of our corporate responsibility pillars. This initiative is reflective of our commitment towards the creation of a sustainable future," said Kornreich.
Further, he said Malaysia has a lot of things going on for it and with that also, greater opportunities to grow.
“It has a relatively low and young population. Education system is good and becoming better and it has a lot of things going for it and that's why we at Alliance Bank has done numerous education and environment campaigns because we are placing positive bets on the future of this country," he said.
Conducted over the course of six week, the Eco-Biz Dream Project 2 will see 20 teams being selected to advance to a coaching and mentoring stage, when they will be guided by leading entrepreneurs and environmentalists.
A further shortlist will be made where judges will pick 10 teams to join a two days, one night development camp.
Winners, which will be determined through the final pitching session focusing on ideation, business case, implementation and team potential, will receive RM20,000 in prize money.