Crowdfunding set to accelerate as critical source of alternative financing — AIF
KUALA LUMPUR: Crowdfunding is expected to accelerate as a critical source of alternative financing for micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.
In a statement yesterday, the Asian Institute of Finance said, its research report showed that crowdfunding has grown in earnest in Malaysia following Bank Negara Malaysia’s policy support for alternative financing.
“The Securities Commission’s introduction of regulatory frameworksforequitycrowfunding in 2015 and peer-to-peer financing in 2016 has also helped,” it said. AIF’s chief executive officer, Dr Raymond Madden, said small businesses and start-ups were excited by the prospects of crowdfunding, the pool of retail and sophisticated investors was expanding and public awareness of its benefits was on the rise.
“In line with global and regional trends, we expect growth for crowdfunding in Malaysia in the coming years, subject to further strengthening of its ecosystem,” he said.
In facilitating the future growth of crowdfunding in Malaysia, AIF said, the key priorities included building an informed community among small business owners and the general public, grooming entrepreneurs, enlarging the investor pool, elevating the profiles of platform operators, increasing project pipeline flows, and reinforcing synergies among institutions dedicated to SME promotion.
AIF said BNM also viewed it as a crucial financing alternative for the more than 900,000 SMEs in Malaysia,whosedevelopmentwasa top priority for the government.
The report was based on a twophase research study consisting of a quantitative survey of the public and SME entrepreneurs within the Klang Valley, as well as desk research and consultations with crowfunding platform operators, government agencies/institutions, sophisticated investors and startup entrepreneurs. — Bernama