The Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC), an agency under the Ministry of International Trade & Industry was established in May 1996 with recognition of the need for a specialised agency to further promote the development of small and medium industries (SMIs) in the manufacturing, manufacturing related services and services sector.

SMIDEC provides assistance in building and strengthening capacity and capability of SMEs, through the provision of development programmes. In addition financial assistance is provided to SMEs to assist them in increasing their efficiency and productivity.

Its mission is to transform SMEs to be vibrant, competitive and resilient and to be fully integrated into the manufacturing and services sectors.

One of the core activities of SMIDEC is to provide financial assistance to SMEs through various grants and soft loan schemes. These programmes are aimed at addressing constraints faced by SMEs and to enhance the capabilities especially in areas of financial accessibility.