KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has recently launched its Alternative Funding Programme for 2021.
This programme will see MDEC partnering with 11 crowdfunding operators to help entrepreneurs tide over the economic challenges brought on by the Covid-19 onslaught.
Chief executive officer Surina Shukri said this is MDEC’s second year running the Alternative Funding Programme led by its Global Growth Acceleration Division (GGA) following its successful launch in 2020 which culminated in 16 companies being listed on participating platforms with a total of RM19.89 million raised.
“Realising the pressing need that startups had in terms of business funding at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, MDEC immediately sprung into action with a few funding facilitation programmes,” she said in a statement today.
Launched in April 2020, the Alternative Funding Programme saw MDEC partnering with seven crowdfunding operators to offer alternative channels for startups to obtain funding as traditional routes posed a strong challenge.
Venture Capitalists (VCs) were also being less than receptive to new investments, especially towards early-stage startups due to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic.
Among the startups that successfully raised funding through the programme include PolicyStreet who raised US$1.8 million (RM7.8 million), the largest fund raised to date from an equity crowd funding (ECF) platform in Malaysia.
“With the continued disruption to businesses caused by Covid-19 in 2020, it is crucial for startups in Malaysia to be able to explore multiple avenues for funding.
“While initiatives like the Dana Penjana Nasional have done much to address the funding gaps for startups in Malaysia, it is in the best interest of MDEC for them to have more options to ensure sustainable cash flow. Backed by the strong outcomes from last year’s programme, I believe ECF and peer-to-peer (P2P) are great fundraising avenues for startups to consider.
“While we were ranked 11th in the emerging startup ecosystem globally by Startup Genome in 2020, our ultimate goal is to be the top-ranking startup ecosystem in the world.
“Funding facilitation initiatives like our Alternative Funding Programme are just one of the many efforts we are making to nurture our startup ecosystem to be top-ranked, which will further help the many as we strive towards Malaysia 5.0 and become the ‘Heart of Digital Asean’,” Surina said.
A total of five ECF — ATA Plus, CrowdPlus.asia, Eurecca, Leet Capital, and pitchIN, as well as six P2P platforms — B2B Finpal, CapBay, Funding Societies, microLEAP, MoneySave, and QuicKash, are taking part in this year’s Alternative Funding Programme by MDEC.
Entrepreneurs, who wish to explore this alternative financing option, may submit their interest at https://mdec.my/gain/alternative-funding/. This drive begins on Jan 27 and ends on March 31, 2021.
MDEC will offer priority assessment to all applicants by expediting the eligibility screening process before submitting the profiles to the applicants’ choice of ECF/P2P operator. — Bernama
