Presented at: Asia Policy Dialogue, Thematic Dialogue Group 2. Funding from communities, Seoul 2018

Organisation: Co-operative College of Malaysia, Malaysia 

Date: July 6th, 2018 

Presenter: Mr. Datuk Mohd Yusof Kasim (Professor and Chairman) 

Contact: myusof54@gmail.com 

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Summary: 

• Co-operatives in Malaysia pay a fee, and the members’ share of businesses and the profit is shared between the co-op and its members. Some issues in co-operative funding are small equity, difficulty to attain financing, the limitation of rules and regulations, etc.
• The research done by the speaker’s institution showed that there is a positive impact between loans given by the government and the performance of the co-operative. With grants, the institutions can increase their assets, increase their sales, and give more dividends to their members, which attracts even more members. In this respect, the government in Malaysia is moving in the right direction by providing necessary support in assisting and developing funds. However, it is important that co-operatives look for new sources of financing because they cannot merely depend on the government.
• The microfinance institution Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) provides loans to institutions without interest and provides training and monitoring. The timeline is as follows: attend a course, attend meetings, receive funding, carry out the project, and then repay. The organization has been very successful, as 90% of the fund recipients have left poverty.
• Cooperative funding and microfinance pave a
  way to lift people out of poverty, focusing on small loans to allow people to invest in their own livelihoods. This is complementary to national poverty eradication programs.