OCBC sets 10,000 by 2030 target under loan programme to help women SME owners

SINGAPORE – Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owned by women typically see about 30 per cent lower sales turnover growth in their first three years of operation compared with those owned by men, OCBC Bank data showed.

However, those that secured financing to support their growth were able to bridge this gap.

That is why OCBC is aiming to provide social loans, targeted at improving the growth and resilience of female-owned businesses, to 10,000 women entrepreneurs across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia by 2030.

The programme has supported over 2,000 women-owned SMEs across the region, with total social loan commitments of close to $600 million as at June 2025.

Speaking at a media briefing on Sept 17, OCBC’s head of emerging business for global commercial banking Iris Ng said the financing typically goes into strategic areas such as starting a new outlet, scaling internationally and expanding product lines and capacity.

Currently, one in three of OCBC’s SME customers across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong is a woman entrepreneur.

Ms Jlynn Chen, founder of sustainable beauty brand The Powder Shampoo, was one of those who received financing under the programme.

“We expanded beyond our original waterless shampoo and body wash to include sustainable hair conditioners. OCBC’s financing also gave us the resources and confidence to invest in research and development for an upcoming eco-friendly pet-care line,” she said.

She also expanded the business to 16 markets, including New Zealand, the UK and the US.

The Powder Shampoo is on track to double its customer base by the end of 2025 and achieve 150 per cent revenue growth by 2026.

Ms Yasmin Sim, co-founder of bespoke food catering brand The Plattering Co, said the company expanded its catering capabilities with a kitchen.

She said the kitchen was a crucial step in scaling the business and allowed the firm to confidently pursue larger-scale opportunities.

“When the OCBC relationship manager reached out, it was very timely because we were in the midst of expanding the kitchen. With this financing secured, we had more courage to really scale at ease,” said Ms Sim.

Beyond financing, the programme also opened doors to workshops and networking opportunities, she said. “Being in the same room with other women founders was incredibly validating.”

The Plattering Co expects to increase its customer base by 1.5 times and triple its revenue by 2027, supported by the establishment of a second central kitchen that is halal-certified.

It is also looking to expand into other Asean markets within the next 12 months.

Women-owned SMEs in the food and beverage, building and construction, and transport and logistics sectors received the highest number of loans, in that order.

The bank first rolled out the programme in Indonesia in 2020. It then launched it in Singapore in April 2024 and in Hong Kong in April 2025, followed by Malaysia in August.

Loan commitments extended to women-owned SMEs in Singapore grew more than 20 per cent in the 12 months following the launch of the programme in April 2024, compared with the 12 months prior.

OCBC’s outgoing head of global commercial banking Linus Goh noted that women business owners tend to be more cautious when taking up financing.

“When we set up the programme, what we saw from the data was that the women entrepreneurs were a little bit more cautious at the start, so they were less likely to take up a loan early in their development,” he said.

He added that OCBC wanted to remove the stigma of taking a loan earlier. “What we found was that if we were able to unlock this, then they would be able to capture the potential to grow and grow as fast as their male counterparts, and some even faster,” he said.

Mr Goh further noted that many entrepreneurs would raise some capital on their own and exhaust that capital first before they seek help.

“But the idea is that you draw on a facility concurrently with your capital, and then you have a credit record that starts to develop early, so that gives you the wherewithal to get started well,” he added.

Under the programme in Singapore, women-owned SMEs can secure financing of up to $100,000 within their first two years of incorporation, with processing fees waived for these loans.