CIMB Islamic mobilises RM750,000 for iTEKAD Melon Manis Terengganu Graduate Agropreneur Programme

6 April 2026

40 agropreneurs have produced 12,000 Melon Manis Terengganu, driving the growth of modern, high-value agriculture

Terengganu: CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (“CIMB Islamic” or “the Bank”) continues to drive inclusive and sustainable development through its flagship iTEKAD initiatives with the iTEKAD CIMB Islamic Melon Manis Terengganu Graduate Agropreneur Programme (“the Programme”), reinforcing CIMB’s purpose of Advancing Customers and Society. Since 2023, the Bank has mobilised RM750,000 in seed funding to empower 40 underserved and asnaf students across two cohorts through sustainable agropreneurship, resulting in the cultivation of approximately 12,000 Melon Manis Terengganu (“MMT”) plants, a premium crop with high commercial potential.

Following the success of its inaugural cohort, CIMB has committed to expand the Programme for a second cohort, extending training and production across four greenhouses in Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (“UniSZA”) Besut Campus, reaffirming its continued support for underserved communities and the development of practical, income-generating opportunities.

Datuk Syed Zaid Albar, Chairman of CIMB Group, together with Dato’ Mohd Hj. Fadzli Yusof, Board of Trustee, Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan (“YDSM”), Prof. Dato’ Dr. Fadzli Adam, Vice Chancellor of UniSZA, Novan Amirudin, Group Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Group, Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic, Haniz Nazlan, Chief Executive Officer of Group Consumer Banking, CIMB and Toni Darusman, Group Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, CIMB officiated the launch of the new cohort and greenhouses. 

Novan said, “This programme reflects our commitment to advancing customers and society by harnessing Islamic social finance as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable nation‑building. By thoughtfully integrating financial inclusion with capacity building, we empower students to develop resilient livelihoods while strengthening local agro‑based value chains and enhancing income opportunities in Terengganu. Beyond supporting individual participants, the programme helps nurture a new generation of future‑ready agropreneurs by creating practical and sustainable pathways for youth to participate in high-growth high-value sectors for the nation, particularly modern agriculture, contributing to a more resilient and inclusive food security landscape overtime.”

Delivered in collaboration with YDSM and UniSZA, the Programme equips youth from the underserved and asnaf communities with technical expertise, entrepreneurial skills and access to essential resources with structured training and hands-on agricultural experience, enabling participants to thrive in modern agriculture.

All participants from the inaugural cohort have remained active in the Programme, collectively achieving an average income of around RM3,000 each per harvest, underscoring the viability of agro-based entrepreneurship as a sustainable long-term pathway for graduates and youth in Terengganu.

Bazli Amin Baharin, 25, one of the participants from the first cohort, said, “As a bachelor’s degree student in Agribusiness at UniSZA, this programme complemented my academic learning and gave me the opportunity to experience agriculture beyond the classroom. Being involved hands-on in crop management, financial planning and marketing has strengthened both my technical and business capabilities and more importantly, built my confidence to manage my own cultivation projects. I am grateful to CIMB for the exposure, which has clarified my ambition to pursue agropreneurship commercially and contribute to a more sustainable agricultural ecosystem. This is an experience I will carry forward as I take my next steps.”

Meanwhile, Nur Syazwani Safi Sukri, 23, a bachelor’s degree student in Agricultural Biotechnology at UniSZA, said, “I joined the programme to gain new exposure in agriculture and to further develop my skills and capabilities. Through both laboratory exposure and hands-on experience in the field, I began to see the field from a different perspective. Thanks to CIMB, the experience provided through this programme has added significant value beyond theoretical learning and helped recognise my potential in agriculture, which is something I had never truly considered, giving me the confidence to continue learning in agropreneurship.”

The Programme is part of Bank Negara Malaysia’s iTEKAD initiative, a national Islamic social finance platform, implemented by CIMB Islamic to drive inclusive economic empowerment. Under this initiative, CIMB Islamic launched three key programmes – the iTEKAD Program Keusahawanan CIMB Islamic-Taylor’s, the iTEKAD CIMB Islamic Rider Entrepreneur Asnaf Programme, and the iTEKAD CIMB Islamic Melon Manis Terengganu Agropreneur Programme. By mobilising zakat, waqaf, and impact investments, these programmes provide financial support, structured capability development, and market access to empower underserved communities and micro-entrepreneurs. Through these efforts, CIMB Islamic continues to advance inclusive growth and strengthen long-term resilience nationwide and foster greater social impact and economic opportunities across all levels of society.