Malaysian POS provider, Sagtec raises US$257k via ECF

• Targeting F&B, retail sectors with 3-tier subscription model
• Secured more than 500 subscribers despite challenges of Covid-19

It takes a brave person to enter a red ocean market, which is what the point-of-sale (POS) solutions for the F&B and retail market is. And yet, Kevin Ng, founder and managing director of the 2018 launched software company Sagtec Group Sdn Bhd, believes there is still room to be a winner.

“Through our internal research we found that more than 58% of the POS market is in the F&B and retail sectors. This inspires us to continue building on our competencies for more robust technologies and solutions.

He recently took a big step towards further building competencies by launching an equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign with Ata Plus – a recognised market operator with the Securities Commission Malaysia. The campaign, which just ended, saw Sagtec raiseUS$257,612 (RM1,064,250), which is 213% above the minimum amount it set.

“We are really glad to have come onboard an ECF platform, which resulted in not only the success of our fundraising exercise but also saw the market’s encouraging reception of Speed+, our in-house developed cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product,” said Ng (pic).

“For our campaign, Ata Plus framed our business into a narrative that propelled us as a valued business with investors, customers and partners. Aside from securing investments, our story and ECF campaign were also amplified through media coverage,” Ng adds.

Funds raised will be used mainly for inventory and asset stocks, PR and marketing; and overhead and sales expenses.

“Sagtec has the edge and mindset over its competitors in Malaysia because it has all the right combination to make it a successful company - understanding for practical solutions, all-inclusive accessibility and clarity of purpose in the creation of its products and services,” said Kyri Andreou, AtaPlus’ cofounder and director.  

Inspired to better enable business owners such as food truck operators, food stall operators, café owners and new entrants into the F&B and retail market, Ng has, from Day One, positioned Sagtec to design affordable and simplified POS systems.

It branded total solutions software Speed+ is specifically targeted at small to medium business owners in the F&B and retail market. “According to our research, the F&B industry is getting younger. Increasingly, first generation businessmen pass their restaurants on to their second generation. The young trust that technology will help them run their business better,” says Ng who was formerly a senior executive at M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd, a listed company offering mobile solutions.

Its SaaS model allows Sagtec to offer customers a monthly subscription since many F&B operators and retailers find current market pricing too high. Sagtec offers three packages which includes hardware and software integration: startup package at RM129, growing package at RM239 and advance package at RM299. “Current market POS pricing is too high. I believe our Speed+ SaaS model is a more convenient way for users to apply the technology,” he says.

“No matter how small a business may be, we just want to promote total confidence and peace of mind with easy and accurate ordering, full reporting features, zero-risk calculations and much lower resource cost. It’s F&B of the 21st century. That’s why we developed Speed+ as a cloud-based software because it allows users to fully manage their businesses – anywhere and anytime with their internet-powered devices.”

To date, Sagtec continues to experience promising growth despite the uncertainties of Covid-19. Ng claims to have secured over 500 subscribers for Speed+ through its economical SaaS packages.