Malaysia’s 1337 Ventures launches fundraising bootcamp for SMEs

Malaysia-based 1337 Ventures, a VC firm focusing on early-stage startups, has launched a fundraising bootcamp as part of an equity crowdfunding (ECF) accelerator program to help local SMEs.

The launch followed 1337 Ventures’ demo day, during which companies pitched to investment firms such as The Hive SEA, Tenggara Capital, Gobi Partners, Malaysia Debt Ventures, Kairous Capital, and Rosewood Capital.

The 1337 Ventures ECF accelerator team / Photo credit: 1337 Ventures

The participants included used goods and idle asset marketplace Unearth and healthtech startup QueueMed Asia. They will be raising funds via ECF through 1337 Ventures’ sister company, Leet Capital.

Suresh Thiru, an angel investor and former CEO of Seek Asia who participated in the demo day, said the ECF accelerator program saw “a great mix of participation” from different industry players and would “play a critical role” for Malaysian entrepreneurs.

See also: YC-like Indian accelerator eyes $500m second fund

The four-week program provided learning materials that focused on how to conduct a business valuation, the types of legal instruments required for an ECF raise, the types of grants currently available, and what constitutes a good media story.

ECF has been increasingly popular in Malaysia as a new and viable way for local businesses to raise funds. The Securities Commission Malaysia reported that the total ECF funds raised increased to 221.63 million ringgit (US$50.6 million) in 2021 from 127.73 million ringgit (US$29.1 million) in 2020.

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.38 ringgit.