PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Islamic equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platforms have raised over US$262 million (RM1.13 billion) for syariah-compliant projects in the past seven years, according to Securities Commission Malaysia chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi.
The number of Islamic ECF/P2P solutions has grown exponentially from 2022 to 2023 in Malaysia, and they currently contribute at least 24% of total alternative funding, compared to only 8% in 2022, he added.
“Although Islamic solution providers are still a small part of this ecosystem (8 out of 25 ECF/P2P players), their presence is definitely growing. Our aim is to cultivate a robust digital landscape by offering a balanced regulatory framework that supports innovation while maintaining market integrity,” he said at the FIKRAtech Roundtable themed “Innovating the Future of Islamic Finance” today.
Mohammad Faiz said that overall (Islamic and non-Islamic) ECF and P2P have raised around US$1.7 billion, supporting more than 18,000 MSMEs, since inception.
“At the Securities Commission Malaysia, we continue to play a role in fostering an environment where innovation can be encouraged, enabling entrepreneurs to secure market-based financing for startups and early-stage companies,” he added.
Since 2015, Mohammad Faiz said, the Securities Commission has gradually introduced several initiatives which include their Guidelines on Recognised Markets, platforms for industry discussions such as fintech roundtables and dialogues with key industry players, and a regulator-led accelerator programme, FIKRA ACE, which promotes syariah-compliant solutions.
“We have also introduced licensing for fintech players for example recognised market operators, dgital asset exchanges and digital investment management services,” he added. Mohammad Faiz said the goal has been to strike a balance, to give new players the confidence to enter the market, and to provide a clear path that fosters growth while keeping everything on track.
“We were the first in the Asean region to introduce a framework for equity crowdfunding in 2015, starting with just six players.”
Since then, he said, it has expanded significantly and, today, there are over 40 players across various fintech verticals, including P2P financing, digital asset exchanges and initial exchange offering platforms.
