KUCHING: As a way of raising money for creative projects, business ventures and public-interest causes from the public, crowdfunding is certainly gaining traction in Malaysia but awareness is still lacking here in Sabah and Sarawak.
Photo shows a screenshot of PitchIN’s website. The company is quite proud that some of its projects are the best in the region, including the highest funded project in Southeast Asia, the most number of backers in a single project, and the most number of successfully funded projects to date.
Keshminder Singh
Sam Shafie
According to Malaysia’s own crowdfunding company, PitchIN, there were many people here that could benefit from having such a platform to raise money for their creative and business projects.
Co-founders Kashminder Singh and Sam Shafie told The Borneo Post that crowdfunding sites such as theirs act as a “democratising tool for funders and businesses.”
“In the old days, if you needed money to do a project or launch a business you went to the bank. It could be a real bank or it could be the ‘Ma and Pa Bank’, they added jokingly. “If the banks liked the project, you get the money. We all know how difficult it is to raise money from a bank especially for a new venture with no track record.”
Using PitchIN also tests the waters for project viability, the duo said, to obtain validation from the public.
“If the project is good, people will back it. If it is not, it will not succeed in raising funds. It is a fast way to fail and move on to another project.”
To date, PitchIN’s most successful project was the TAPAUfest project that raised RM87,705 from a target of RM85,000 in 30 days.
The project was started by Ahmad Faris who wanted to raise funds to host a festival of music, clothing and food started by local brands.
Nevertheless, Keshminder said on a global comparision, Malaysia is still far from countries such as the US.
“There, the crowdfunding business raises hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe even billions of dollars. Having said that, crowdfunding in Malaysia has done quite well on a regional basis. PitchIN is quite proud that some of its projects are the best in the region.”
Some of PitchIN’s accolades include the highest funded project in Southeast Asia, the most number of backers in a single project, and the most number of successfully funded projects.
“We believe that there is great potential for crowdfunding in Malaysia but a lot of awareness building has to be done.
“There is still work to be done in terms of educating the general public and policy makers of the value of crowdfunding. There is also still much to do in educating entrepreneurs of the advantages of crowd funding their next project or idea. There is also still work to be done in educating entrepreneurs on what it takes to run a successful crowdfunding exercise.
“PitchIN has been working to create new ways to get more people interested in crowdfunding. We have built partnerships with organisations like Cradle, MDeC, the Securities Commission, Teach for Malaysia, Yayasan Pembangunan Pondok.
“Our next plan is to introduce a new strategy which we call “pitchIN Pages”, which will allow corporate bodies and Brands to also play a role in growing the crowd funding eco-system in Malaysia. We hope that by having corporate bodies and Brands to host their own Page in pitchIN, they will inspire entrepreneurs to start projects and get endorsements from the corporate bodies and Brands that will allow their projects to be featured in respective Pages of corporate bodies and Brands.”
Kashminder and Sam added their hopes of seeing crowdfunding projects from Sabah and Sarawak, believing there are many people here with creative and innovative ideas.
“PitchIN is also seeking to work with partners in Sabah and Sarawak. Individuals and organisations keen to become crowdfunding evangelists in Sabah and Sarawak are welcome to contact us.”