KUALA LUMPUR: Since inception, equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer ( P2P) financing have been on a continued rise, with a growing number of micro, small and medium entreprises (MSMEs) turning to digital platforms to secure capital.
In total, ECF and P2P financing had facilitated 7,218 MSMEs to raise more than RM4.4 billion, the Securities Commission (SC) said in its 2022 Annual Report.
Although there was a 36 per cent decrease in total fundraising via ECF in 2022 to RM140.4 million (2021: RM220.7 million), campaign sizes were larger, with 21 per cent of campaigns raising above RM3 million each (2021: 17 per cent of campaigns).
P2P financing continued to grow in 2022, with total fundraising amounting to RM1.6 billion, recording a 38 per cent increase (2021: RM1.1 billion) which benefited 3,732 companies (2021: 1,986).
The SC has also seen traction in the ECF and P2P financing offerings in the agriculture sector – a sector of strategic importance to the local economy.
The launch of Malaysia Co-Investment Fund special co-investment ratio of 1:2 in 2022, has encouraged more private investments into this sector via these alternative financing platforms.
Since inception, ECF and P2P financing have fundraised over RM430 million benefitting more than 400 agri-related MSMEs across the entire value chain: upstream, midstream and downstream.