KUALA LUMPUR: Fundaztic.com, a peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platform, is aiming to raise RM80 million funds for the micro and small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) this year from the current RM55.56 million.
The platform is also raising investment notes of up to 1,200 from the current 730 notes for MSMEs.
Chief executive officer Kristine Ng said this will be driven by the company’s close engagement with investors and MSMEs over the years which would include roadshows and marketing campaigns.
“We still think there is a huge potential to tap into with underserved MSMEs that are still lacking in understanding their credit profile – which makes it difficult for them to secure financing from both banks and alternative financier like P2P platforms.
“We continue to engage with banks and strategic partners. Besides that, we are also actively conducting roadshows to increase awareness both for the investors and borrowers (MSMEs),” she told reporters at New Age Investment event hosted by Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, here, today.
Last year, Fundaztic has managed to raise RM36 million for SMEs.
Ng said per week, Fundaztic has managed to list 10 to 12 investment notes which she said is still a slow progress.
“Ideally, we want to issue 25 to 30 per week in order to fill the gap in financing that are faced by small businesses in the country,” she said.
According to the Securities Commission, alternative financing platforms including peer-to-peer (P2P) and equity crowdfunding (ECF) have raised RM344 million as of March this year, benefiting close to 900 MSMEs.
The regulator said however, this figure is still short from sufficient, with a funding gap of up to RM80 billion.
Meanwhile, equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform (pitchIN) chief executive officer and co-founder Sam Shafie said the funding platform is on track to raise RM16 million funds this year.
He said as of July 2019, it raised RM12.9 million from 11 companies through its ECF platform involving 400 investors, adding that 57 per cent of the investors were from retail investors, while the rest were angel investors and high net worth individuals.
He said most investors who sign up for the pitchIN platform are investors under the age of 40.
“In January, we have set a target to raise RM16 million a year. We are confident that we can achieve this target and have so far generated about RM13 million,” he said.
As of August 12, 2019, pintchIN has raised RM41.9 million from ECF funds for 35 companies with 80.2 per cent market share.