As climate regulations tighten and international buyers demand deeper transparency, sustainability has moved from a “nice-to-have” to a critical business imperative, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The UNDP and ADB’s 2025 Greening Supply Chains Playbook offers a compelling case study from Malaysia on how financial and technical ecosystems can work together to unlock low-carbon transitions for SMEs across ASEAN.

‍

Key Takeaways from Malaysia’s Greening Value Chain (GVC) Program

At the heart of the report is Malaysia’s Greening Value Chain (GVC) Program, led by the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3). It combines concessional financing via the Low Carbon Transition Facility (LCTF) with capacity-building, emissions tracking tools, and corporate engagement strategies. The program targets the root barriers preventing SMEs from decarbonising: limited awareness, lack of clear emissions frameworks, fragmented support services, and high upfront costs.

Core Learnings:

• Financing Alone Is Not Enough: Many SMEs are unfamiliar with sustainability-linked loans or struggle with eligibility criteria. The LCTF was effective only when paired with hands-on technical support.
• Training Must Be Practical and Localised: SMEs preferred tailored coaching over generic ESG seminars. Access to simple emissions tracking tools (e.g., Pantas Lite) dramatically improved engagement.
• Policy and Procurement Matter: Regulatory mandates, buyer pressure from MNCs, and tender advantages for ESG-compliant vendors were key motivators for SMEs to act.
• Measurement Drives Action: When SMEs could visualise carbon hotspots via software, they were more likely to adopt cost-saving solutions (like solar or energy-efficient machinery).

As of Q1 2025, nearly 200 SMEs had joined the program, primarily in the manufacturing and professional services sectors. Some firms saw energy costs halved, ROI within 2.5 years, and increased brand credibility in local and export markets​.

Where Tese.io Comes In

At Tese.io, we’re building the next generation of ESG infrastructure for emerging markets and beyond, including platforms like those used in Malaysia—but with full-stack, interoperable tools designed to scale across financial ecosystems.

Our platform enables:

• Real-time ESG Dashboards for SMEs to track water, waste, energy, emissions, and governance data.
• Loan Lifecycle Management for banks and DFIs to assess applications, disburse funds, and monitor project-level impact.
• AI-powered Tools that auto-generate ESG reports, benchmark SME performance against peers, and flag high-risk sustainability gaps.

What Malaysia’s LCTF and GVC programs show is that SMEs can and will transition, if they’re given the right mix of data, incentives, and support. This is exactly what we aim to deliver at Tese, enabling local banks, governments, and international financiers to mobilise capital toward resilient, regenerative economies.

‍

What’s Next?

As Malaysia looks to scale its sustainability-linked financing ecosystem, and other ASEAN countries begin to replicate similar models, platforms like Tese can accelerate adoption through:

• Automated ESG tracking and verification tools
• Sector-specific templates and data coaching for SMEs
• White-labeled portals for financial institutions to onboard green projects
• Portfolio-level fund management for DFIs to track aggregated emissions impact

With more than RM2 billion (US$450 million) already committed under the LCTF, the momentum is real, and with the right tech backbone, the movement can scale regionally and globally​.

‍

Are you a bank or SME looking to embed ESG into your core operations? Let’s talk.