Angel steps in: Cradle recipient Sync Media gets US$79K

• Unidentified angel investor is corporate figure and member of MBAN
• Funds to further develop its mobile-based School Communication Platform

CRADLE CIP Catalyst recipient Sync Media (M) Sdn Bhd has secured RM250,000 (US$78,840) funding from a local angel investor to develop its School Communication Platform, a mobile solution that aims to break down the barriers of communication between teachers and parents.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
 
Sync Media founder and chief executive officer Muhammad Zharif Md Sarif said the angel investor – who only wanted to be known by his initials, B.K. – is a serial investor with a corporate background attached to the Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) Angels Chapter.
 
He is also a member of the Malaysian Business Angels Network (MBAN), Zharif said in a statement issued by Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, which acted as the secretariat for MBAN when it was first formed in late 2012.
 
Cradle is the Ministry of Finance agency that manages the Cradle Investment Programme (CIP). The Ministry of Finance has allocated RM100 million to Cradle for this programme since it began in 2003, and an additional RM150 million was recently added to the allocation under the 10th Malaysia Plan.
 
Zharif said he met the angel investor at Cradle’s Chill & Chat Q2, a casual tea-time networking event held every quarter to match entrepreneurs with potential business partners and investors.
 
The funds from the investment will go into expanding Sync Media’s sales team, and to hire developers to improve its School Communication Platform for the Android and iOS environments.
 
“With his vast experience in the corporate world, we also hope to leverage on our angel investor’s knowledge on company structure and strategic planning,” Zharif (pic) said.
 
“This will help us with our goal to be a listed company on Bursa Malaysia by 2020,” he added.
 
Zharif said Sync Media developed the School Communication Platform to reduce the occurrence of the ‘missing teacher’s note’ about school events, student progress and academic performance.
 
“The conventional method of handing the notes to students to give to their parents is ineffective. The teacher’s notes do not reach parents because students forget to pass it to them, whether intentionally or unintentionally,” he argued.
 
The School Communication Platform lets schools send these important messages directly to parents through push-notifications or SMS messages, eliminating the use of paper so that parents can keep updated on their children’s school activities and achievements.
 
Zharif plans to bring the School Communication Platform to 3,000 schools nationwide in the next three years. Currently, 30 schools in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Pahang and Sarawak are using it.
 
Cradle chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan said he hoped that more angel investors would be willing to fund the growth of local technology startups by leveraging on the Angel Tax Incentive, which rolled out in April, 2013.
 
“The Angel Tax Incentive was formulated to reduce the risk of angel investing by offering a gross tax deduction on their personal income tax of up to RM500,000 per annum,” said Nazrin.
 
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