MTDC, Gobi Partners co-invest $1.16m in Malaysia’s pitchIN EFC

The Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), a company that is wholly-owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, has joined Gobi Partners in co-investing $1.16 million (RM5 million) in Pitch Platforms Sdn Bhd (pitchIN).

The investment, that was made through MTDC’s Business Growth Fund (BGF Fund) and Gobi‘s Superseed II Fund (Gobi SSII Fund), will be spent to assist Pitch Platforms to expand its equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform and launch its first initial exchange offering (IEO) in Malaysia.

At the same time, they will also be introducing a secondary market platform and expand their operations regionally.

pitchIN ECF is listed as a Registered Market Operator (RMO) with the Securities Commission.

“We support and believe that this co-investment will benefit Malaysia’s technology companies as their capability to sustain and grow their business in the wake of the recent pandemic is another reason for our continued partnership with them. MTDC would also like to invite other investors to co-invest alongside us, specifically in the technology sector,” MTDC’s CEO Mohammad Hazani said.

Hazani said their partnership with Gobi Partners will help Malaysian technology companies, with high growth potentials, to expand their operations both locally and internationally.

Jamaludin Bujang, Gobi Managing Partner (Malaysia), said that the co-investment partnership will allow entrepreneurs, especially the startups and SME’s, to receive additional funding which will come in handy in this very challenging economic landscape.

pitchIN ECF has so far successfully funded 154 deals for 150 companies, the most among all ECF platforms in Malaysia. It has also raised over $65.3 million for the 150 companies that are using its platform, with over 7,600 investments made into fast growing Malaysian companies.

Sam Shafie, Pitch Platform’s CEO, said that both the MTDC and Gobi Partners are expected to bring experience and market reach. Their investment was also expected to bring more growth to pitchIN.

In 2020, MTDC also signed a MoU with Pitch Platforms to collaborate and cooperate in the areas of ECF. Under the MTDC-pitchIN ECF Programme, MTDC will participate in equity crowdfunding investment of up to 30% in eligible prospective companies per campaign.

After it poured additional investment into pitchIN, MTDC will now be able to further facilitate fundraising for local technology-based companies through their crowdsourcing online platform.

MTDC is also set to provide its integrated support services for the funded companies. This will include Technology Centre Management, Technopreneur Training Academy (TENTRA), Centre of 9 PillarsÒ (Co9PÒ) and advisory services such as mentoring, soft-landing, branding, fund raising, international collaboration and networking.