pitchIN releases annual report 2019 and declares itself APAC’s top ECF platform

• 1,582 investments made in 2019, more than double the investments over preceding 3 years
• ositive impact from Malaysian Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF) scheme by government

pitchIN today released its pitchIN Equity Crowdfunding Report 2019. Malaysia’s leading equity crowdfunding platform recorded sterling record breaking numbers across all metrics.

Four years after launching, Malaysia’s equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform, pitchIN is claiming to be the leading regulated ECF platform in Asia Pac thanks to its breakout performance in 2019 which resulted in it completing 49 deals over the past four years with its closest APAC competitor, operating out of New Zealand, completing 36.

Hailing the news, Sam Shafie, pitchIN’s CEO says, “We are delighted to announce that pitchIN has become the leading regulated ECF platform in the entire Asia Pacific region. Our 2019 performance has propelled us into No.1 position. Since launching in 2016, pitchIN has completed 49 deals. Our nearest APAC only competitor, which operates in New Zealand, has done 36 deals. Another platform with presence in the Middle East, EU, UK and Asia has done 38 deals. Compared on a currency to currency basis, pitchIN has raised RM60 million to date. The next ECF platform in APAC has raised NZ$54 million.”

In Malaysia, pitchIN maintained its lead among ECF operators. “pitchIN has been the No.1 ECF platform since 2017 and 2019 was our best year ever, smashing every Malaysian ECF record,” enthused Sam. He attributes their success to the companies that chose to raise on pitchIN as well as the savvy investors who supported the deals. “We express our deepest gratitude to them,” he says.

The 19 ECF deals it closed represented a 137.5% year on year rise. The companies raised RM22.7 million (US$5.37 million), a strong 67% increase YOY.

Fashion brand, OXWHITE, was pitchIN’s most successful campaign of 2019. It currently holds the record for the largest ECF deal in Malaysia, raising US$1.188 million (RM5.019 million) through a combination of equity crowdfunding and private placements. OXWHITE also attracted the greatest number of investors per deal in Malaysia when 485 investors participated in their ECF offer. In addition, pitchIN also has the single largest investment in an ECF deal. An investor put in RM1.5 million in SalesCandy’s second ECF round.

Significantly, pitchIN’s investor base continues to grow as well, indicating that more Malaysian investors are broadening their investment appetites. A total of 1,582 investments were made on pitchIN, more than double the investments made over the preceding 3 years.

Kashminder Singh, pitchIN Chief Strategy Officer said, “pitchIN’s performance is confirmation of Malaysia’s strong economic potential and the willingness of investors to back great Malaysian companies. It also validates pitchIN’s strategy of curating companies and bringing only the best deals forward onto our platform. We must also acknowledge the positive impact that the Malaysian Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF) scheme has had on the ECF industry. Investors have been encouraged by seeing the Government co-investing alongside them into outstanding SMEs”

Kashminder added that another factor that continues to draw investors is that by and large, companies that raise on pitchIN are performing well, “In 2019, 4 pitchIN funded companies went on raise further rounds from VCs at higher valuations. Two companies returned to pitchIN to raise their second rounds, again at higher valuations. pitchIN also recorded its first exit opportunity when investors in MyCash Online were offered buyouts that gave 44.2% returns by a VC. We fully expect to see these patterns continuing as companies continue their upward growth.”

pitchIN also carried out a projection of what a portfolio of every single ECF deal from 2016 to 2019 would be worth today. The conservative estimates were very positive. A portfolio of minimum investment in pitchIN companies is currently showing a projected return of 57%. Kashminder added, “This is in line with the advice we give investors. pitchIN encourages investors to spread their risks by investing in multiple deals, rather than just one deal. We are heartened then to see that nearly 340 investors have made 2 or more investments into pitchIN deals. In fact, pitchIN’s top 3 investors have made 21, 18 and 17 investments respectively.

Looking ahead to 2020, pitchIN is confident of maintaining its strong performance, “Our pipeline remains strong, with over 40 companies working on launching their ECF campaigns soon. We are excited to see the variety of companies that we will be hosting in 2020.”

Meanwhile, Sam added that pitchIN’s planned secondary market should see light this year, “We have been informed that the Securities Commission will release its secondary markets framework soon. pitchIN will then apply to operate a secondary market, which will add another liquidity option for ECF investors. In addition to that, pitchIN will also apply to operate an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) platform this year once applications are opened by the Securities Commission”

The complete pitchIN Equity Crowdfunding Report 2019 is available for download from the pitchIN platform.