- East Malaysia expansion highlights opportunities for entrepreneurs
- Makes it clear that issuers cannot depend 100% on investors already on the platform
Equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform ATA-Plus ended 2025 on a much stronger note, raising US$1.8 million (RM7.1 million) across five successful campaigns after two quieter years. Investor interest also widened beyond tech startups, extending into food security, agriculture, and other real-economy sectors.
The performance marks a turnaround for the ECF operator, which had struggled to gain momentum in 2023 and 2024 amid a cautious funding environment. According to Elain Lockman (pic), CEO and co-founder of ATA-Plus, part of the improvement in 2025 reflected the longer fundraising cycles typical of equity crowdfunding.
“The performance in 2023 and 2024 was not encouraging. Having said that, quite a number of the campaigns we closed in 2025 were actually listed the year before.”
ATA-Plus has positioned itself as a focused, hands-on operator. Elain, who launched the company in 2014 and saw it get Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) approval as a registered market operator in July 2015, describes ATA-Plus as “a very boutique platform,” emphasizing that the goal is not just to list campaigns, but to help issuers successfully close their rounds.
“Companies coming onto our platform are strongly encouraged to already have some investors lined up. We make it very clear that they cannot depend 100% on existing investors already on our platform.”
This approach reflects the reality of equity crowdfunding in Malaysia. Issuers are often expected to bring in some of their own investors, as platform-based investors rarely reinvest unless the opportunity is particularly compelling.
“Generally, people invest in people, unless there is a very compelling proposition. When you talk about the success factors of a fundraiser, it’s a mix of things. It’s not just the attractiveness of the business, it’s also the team and the investment offer,” said Elain who served as President of the Registered Digital Markets Association from 2018 to 2025.
Investor behaviour is shaped by competition from more familiar investment products, including fixed deposits, ETFs, unit trusts, and cryptocurrencies. Entry points also play a role. While ATA-Plus has hosted campaigns with entry points as low as RM10 in the past, most ECF offerings in the market start at RM1,000 or higher.
“But crowdfunding is not easy,” Elain said. “It’s not a situation where you list your campaign on the platform and the money just appears. Ultimately, interested investors want to look at the upside potential of the business before making their decision.”
Diversifying beyond tech
Despite these challenges, 2025 saw ATA-Plus host campaigns across a notably diverse range of sectors. These include cleaning services, aquaculture, bird’s nest production, and waste management. The growing interest in these areas is closely linked to policy direction and regulatory initiatives.
“I think the growing interest, especially in food security and environment-related sectors, is driven by the government over the past few years,” Elain said. She pointed to initiatives rolled out by the SC and roadshows in Johor, Kuantan, and other locations.
“As a result, we’ve seen increased interest in these sectors and for some reason, that interest tends to spill over to our platform. We’ve had quite a number of inquiries in these areas.”
Many bird’s nest producers, for example, had been operating on a smaller scale and previously raised funds through private placements.
“They already had locked-in buyers, but they want to scale up and saw growing interest from investors,” Elain explained. “At the same time, these companies were keen to raise funds in a compliant way and avoid regulatory issues.”
Looking ahead, Elain expects interest to broaden further following the SC’s introduction of the Silver Economy Scheme, targeting businesses serving aging populations. This includes sectors such as healthtech, smart homes, mental health support, home-based care, childcare, and early education.
Understanding investors
Elain is candid about investor motivations.
“If you ask me, investors want to make money. That’s the bottom line,” she said with a laugh. She noted, however, that younger investors tend to be more values-driven, often focusing on environmental and social impact sectors.
“Across the board, though, people are constantly looking for investment instruments. Many investors tend to invest in groups and follow perceived momentum.”
ATA-Plus ensures investors understand the risks involved.
“They must understand that this is a high-risk investment. They could potentially lose all their money, or they could make significant returns,” Elain said. And then, it could be that their returns are not exciting as well.
On the issuer side, the platform also guides companies on structuring attractive investment offers, including rewards, shareholder value, and the appeal of their products or services as it cannot just be about the percentage of returns their investors can expect to get.
Expansion into East Malaysia
A key milestone for ATA-Plus in 2025 was its expansion into Sabah and Sarawak, partly driven by demand from agriculture and agriculture-related entrepreneurs.
“Because of the geographical distance, especially in Sabah, many entrepreneurs are simply unaware of this type of funding product,” Elain explained. Investor education, she added, is equally important.
“Sabahans and Sarawakians are very supportive of their local industries, and we see a lot of opportunity. Entrepreneurs there are eager to grow, and the state governments are supportive too.”
The expansion also highlighted structural challenges faced by SMEs nationwide, particularly around financial readiness.
“Many enterprises lack essential foundations,” Elain observed, highlighting three persistent challenges for small and medium-sized businesses: inadequate bookkeeping, the absence of audited financial statements, and poorly defined business plans.
Local partnerships have been critical. In Sarawak, ATA-Plus works with the Sarawak Business Federation, while in Sabah it collaborates with GA Space KK.
“You need local partners because we don’t know these communities as well as locals do,” she said, noting that the partners serve as the first line of screening, education, and engagement.
Visibility and AI
Beyond geographic expansion, ATA-Plus was visible across Malaysia’s startup and investment ecosystem in 2025, participating in initiatives such as SC GrowMatch, SIDEC programmes, MyCIF roadshows, and the MBAN Summit.
According to Elain, these engagements are assessed based on deal flow potential, brand awareness, and opportunities to educate both founders and investors about equity crowdfunding.
“I am often invited to mentor issuers and founders, which helps promote our brand and equity crowdfunding. Visibility isn’t just about businesses and investors. It’s also about engaging regulators and shaping a vibrant ecosystem.”
ATA-Plus is leveraging AI to make its platform more dynamic for issuers and investors. The new website prototype, built entirely with prompt-based tools rather than traditional coding, allows the team to quickly refresh the site’s look and feel.
“From a website perspective, AI lets us make updates quickly through prompts, and even our backend and CMS were developed this way. It’s amazing how fast it all came together. You just need the right tools and people,” Elain explained.
AI also helps the platform manage costs and streamline processes.
“From a management perspective, AI makes the platform more cost-effective. It significantly reduces long-term operational and maintenance expenses,” she said.
“Due diligence involves a lot of work today. We’re exploring tools to reduce that burden and make the process smoother for everyone involved.”
Goals for 2026
As ATA-Plus looks toward 2026, it is targeting growth, but with caution.
“Ideally, we want to double what we raised in 2025,” Elain said of the RM7.1 million figure, while acknowledging rising costs and new fee structures introduced by the SC.
After nearly a decade in operation, Elain believes the industry’s next challenge is storytelling.
“What we need are more success stories,” she said. “Not just companies that successfully fundraise. I’m talking about companies that successfully exit. Without visible outcomes, broader adoption of equity crowdfunding will remain slow.”
For ATA-Plus, 2025 may have been a turning point, but sustaining momentum will depend on whether the platform and the ecosystem around it can deliver tangible, long-term results.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
