Many businesses were on their knees during the Covid pandemic. But it was a period of significant growth for a group of remarkable women entrepreneurs.
As the pandemic turned the world upside down, an engineer launched a Nyonya food paste business, a pharmacist introduced an Ayurvedic beauty product range, and a housewife cultivated western herbs. Today, they are all thriving businesspersons.
The thread that goes through all their success stories is MADCash, a microfinance scheme launched by 52-year-old Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin. MADCash is an acronym for Multiply-Assist-Donate.
Source: Malaysiakini
MADCash is a platform which turns public donations into interest-free microloans of up to
RM5,000 to women entrepreneurs, who would otherwise not have access to credit through conventional means.
Not only does MADCash maintain the fintech microloan platform, it also does the data analysis to vet the microloan applicants to determine their bankability within two years of the loan extension.
It also provides business coaching to ensure the entrepreneurs have a higher chance of repaying the loans within the 10-month credit term and growing their businesses further.
In 2022, MADCash extended RM54,000 in loans to 33 women, while this grew by five folds with a total of 157 women receiving RM354,000 in 2023. The loans have a 98 percent repayment rate.
MADCash is launching the same scheme in Singapore in April and is also in talks with potential partners in Tajikistan. This year, Nuraizah hopes MADCash can extend loans to
800 women, a move she expects will have a compounding impact on the community.
This is a success story like Grameen Bank (“GB”) in Bangladesh. GB started as a pilot project in 1976. In 1983, it became a bank. The aim is to alleviate poverty and empower the marginalised poor through micro-credit. The MADCash scheme could take a similar path from a platform to a bank!
Reference:
Mad about growing cash: Fintech outfit is changing women’s lives, S. Vinothaa, Malaysiakini, 1 March 2024
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