Malaysian crowdfunding firm nets $1.7m from ex-Petronas CEO, others

Ethis Global, a Malaysia-based Islamic fintech startup that focuses on crowdfunded investments, said it has raised US$1.7 million in a pre-series A financing round from investors, who include former Petronas group CEO Wan Zulkiflee and Khurram Hilal, group CEO of Islamic banking at Standard Chartered Bank.

Photo credit: Ethis Group

The company will use the fresh funds to scale up its operations in its existing markets, acquire licenses, expand in new jurisdictions, and develop new technology.

The crowdfunding platform for equity investments is also aiming to raise US$10 million from institutional and corporate investors in its series A funding round.

Founded in 2014 as a private investment club in Singapore, Ethis focuses on sustainable investments, financing, and donations. It operates regulated platforms in Malaysia and Indonesia and also has regulatory approvals in Dubai and Qatar.

“Ethis is on track to prove the commercial viability of our high-impact fintech model based on Islamic finance principles,” said Umar Munshi, founder of Ethis Group.

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Its Indonesian arm has been operating since 2015, matching retail investors to impact-investment campaigns focused on property development for social housing and supply chain projects for small and medium-sized enterprises across over 50 countries.

The latest financing round comes on the heels of the appointment of Amran Bin Mohd – a former partner at Gobi Partners – as chairman of the newly established Ethis Investment Management.

Since the onset of Covid-19, Ethis has launched several new investment products, including short-term, high-yield supply chain financing projects in Indonesia and equity investments in “future tech” startups in Malaysia.