KUALA LUMPUR, 16 OCTOBER 2026 – Winning a bigger contract should be good news for a growing business. For many Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it is also when cash runs tightest: staff and suppliers must be paid months before the customer settles the invoice. Workforce management firm Manforce Group Berhad faced exactly that as it expanded.
“Cash flow management is one of the most critical challenges for growing businesses, especially in workforce management where we must upfront significant operational costs on behalf of clients. Unlike traditional financing models, which focus heavily on physical collateral, CapBay took the time to understand our business model and offered flexible, considerate terms,” said Andrew Chin, Finance Director of Manforce Group Berhad.
“Having a financing partner that provides faster access to funds allowed us to bridge liquidity gaps during challenging periods like the COVID-19 pandemic and optimise our cash conversion cycle, enabling us to focus on business expansion with confidence,” Chin added.
Manforce Group is one of more than 2,700 SMEs across 20 industries that have worked with local fintech leader Bay Group Holdings Sdn. Bhd. (CapBay), which marks its 10th year since establishment.
“Our first financing was RM6,000 to a sole proprietor trying to bring in lab equipment for a Malaysian university. Ten years and 45,000 financing notes later, we’ve crossed RM6 billion. That number is not one we celebrate for its own sake. It is thousands of payrolls met, contracts delivered and businesses still trading,” said Ang Xing Xian, Co-Founder and Group CEO of CapBay.
CapBay assesses businesses on what they do rather than what they own. Its Supply Chain Finance and Peer-to-Peer Financing (P2P) platforms read live trading data, invoice validity and buyer payment records instead of asking for property as collateral, reducing approval times from months to days.
That approach has also made CapBay a conduit for public funds, channelling working capital through co-investment frameworks such as the Malaysia Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF) and the NIMP Strategic Co-Investment Fund (CoSIF), both under the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).
It also serves as an appointed financial intermediary for SME Corp. Malaysia under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP). In that role, it supports national schemes such as BERKAT and RMK13 (Program-Program Pembiayaan Rancangan Malaysia Ke-13). CapBay also collaborates with TERAJU for Bumiputera entrepreneurs and with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) under the MD Technology Financing Programme. Together, these partnerships support national priorities under the 13th Malaysia Plan, including the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy.
Since the SC introduced its P2P regulatory framework in 2016, SC-registered platforms have become an established channel for business financing. According to the SC Annual Report 2025, alternative financing avenues raised RM5.7 billion for MSMEs and mid-tier companies in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 39.0%. P2P financing raised RM2.8 billion in 2025, up from RM2.5 billion in 2024.
Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October 2026, reinforced the role of such platforms. The Government set aside RM270 million to draw private capital into SMEs, mid-tier companies and social enterprises through P2P financing and equity crowdfunding platforms. It also fixed stamp duty on financing agreements executed through P2P platforms at RM10 from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030.
“Budget 2027’s support for P2P platforms confirms that regulated digital financing is now part of how Malaysia funds its SMEs. Our job in the next decade is to get that capital to every viable business that needs it,” Ang added.
As it enters its second decade, CapBay will continue to deepen its public-private partnerships and refine its AI-driven credit assessment to reach more Malaysian businesses across sectors.
