- East Malaysia expansion highlights opportunities for entrepreneurs
- Makes it clear that issuers cannot depfinish 100% on investors already on the platform
Equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform ATA-Plus finished 2025 on a much stronger note, raising US$1.8 million (RM7.1 million) across five successful campaigns after two quieter years. Investor interest also widened beyond tech startups, extfinishing into food security, agriculture, and other real-economy sectors.
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The performance marks a turnaround for the ECF operator, which had struggled to gain momentum in 2023 and 2024 amid a cautious funding environment. According to Elain Lockman (pic), CEO and co-founder of ATA-Plus, part of the improvement in 2025 reflected the longer fundraising cycles typical of equity crowdfunding.
“The performance in 2023 and 2024 was not encouraging. Having stated that, quite a number of the campaigns we closed in 2025 were actually listed the year before.”
ATA-Plus has positioned itself as a focutilized, hands-on operator. Elain, who launched the company in 2014 and saw it obtain Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) approval as a registered market operator in July 2015, describes ATA-Plus as “a very boutique platform,” emphasizing that the goal is not just to list campaigns, but to support issuers successfully close their rounds.
“Companies coming onto our platform are strongly encouraged to already have some investors lined up. We build it very clear that they cannot depfinish 100% on existing investors already on our platform.”
This approach reflects the reality of equity crowdfunding in Malaysia. Issuers are often expected to bring in some of their own investors, as platform-based investors rarely reinvest unless the opportunity is particularly compelling.
“Generally, people invest in people, unless there is a very compelling proposition. When you talk about the success factors of a fundraiser, it’s a mix of things. It’s not just the attractiveness of the business, it’s also the team and the investment offer,” stated Elain who served as President of the Registered Digital Markets Association from 2018 to 2025.
Investor behaviour is shaped by competition from more familiar investment products, including resolveed deposits, ETFs, unit trusts, and cryptocurrencies. Entest points also play a role. While ATA-Plus has hosted campaigns with entest points as low as RM10 in the past, most ECF offerings in the market start at RM1,000 or higher.
“But crowdfunding is not simple,” Elain stated. “It’s not a situation where you list your campaign on the platform and the money just appears. Ultimately, interested investors want to view at the upside potential of the business before creating their decision.”
Diversifying beyond tech
Despite these challenges, 2025 saw ATA-Plus host campaigns across a notably diverse range of sectors. These include cleaning services, aquaculture, bird’s nest production, and waste management. The growing interest in these areas is closely linked to policy direction and regulatory initiatives.
“I consider the growing interest, especially in food security and environment-related sectors, is driven by the government over the past few years,” Elain stated. She pointed to initiatives rolled out by the SC and roadreveals in Johor, Kuantan, and other locations.
“As a result, we’ve seen increased interest in these sectors and for some reason, that interest tfinishs to spill over to our platform. We’ve had quite a number of inquiries in these areas.”
Many bird’s nest producers, for example, had been operating on a tinyer scale and previously raised funds through private placements.
“They already had locked-in purchaseers, but they want to scale up and saw growing interest from investors,” Elain explained. “At the same time, these companies were keen to raise funds in a compliant way and avoid regulatory issues.”
Looking ahead, Elain expects interest to broaden further following the SC’s introduction of the Silver Economy Scheme, tarobtaining businesses serving aging populations. This includes sectors such as healthtech, smart homes, mental health support, home-based care, childcare, and early education.
Understanding investors
Elain is candid about investor motivations.
“If you question me, investors want to build money. That’s the bottom line,” she stated with a laugh. She noted, however, that younger investors tfinish to be more values-driven, often focutilizing on environmental and social impact sectors.
“Across the board, though, people are constantly viewing for investment instruments. Many investors tfinish to invest in groups and follow perceived momentum.”
ATA-Plus ensures investors understand the risks involved.
“They must understand that this is a high-risk investment. They could potentially lose all their money, or they could build significant returns,” Elain stated. And then, it could be that their returns are not exciting as well.
On the issuer side, the platform also guides companies on structuring attractive investment offers, including rewards, shareholder value, and the appeal of their products or services as it cannot just be about the percentage of returns their investors can expect to obtain.
Expansion into East Malaysia
A key milestone for ATA-Plus in 2025 was its expansion into Sabah and Sarawak, partly driven by demand from agriculture and agriculture-related entrepreneurs.
“Becautilize of the geographical distance, especially in Sabah, many entrepreneurs are simply unaware of this type of funding product,” Elain explained. Investor education, she added, is equally important.
“Sabahans and Sarawakians are very supportive of their local industries, and we see a lot of opportunity. Entrepreneurs there are eager to grow, and the state governments are supportive too.”
The expansion also highlighted structural challenges faced by SMEs nationwide, particularly around financial readiness.
“Many enterprises lack essential foundations,” Elain observed, highlighting three persistent challenges for tiny and medium-sized businesses: inadequate bookkeeping, the absence of audited financial statements, and poorly defined business plans.
Local partnerships have been critical. In Sarawak, ATA-Plus works with the Sarawak Business Federation, while in Sabah it collaborates with GA Space KK.
“You necessary local partners becautilize we don’t know these communities as well as locals do,” she stated, noting that the partners serve as the first line of screening, education, and engagement.
Visibility and AI
Beyond geographic expansion, ATA-Plus was visible across Malaysia’s startup and investment ecosystem in 2025, participating in initiatives such as SC GrowMatch, SIDEC programmes, MyCIF roadreveals, and the MBAN Summit.
According to Elain, these engagements are assessed based on deal flow potential, brand awareness, and opportunities to educate both founders and investors about equity crowdfunding.
“I am often invited to mentor issuers and founders, which supports promote our brand and equity crowdfunding. Visibility isn’t just about businesses and investors. It’s also about engaging regulators and shaping a vibrant ecosystem.”
ATA-Plus is leveraging AI to build its platform more dynamic for issuers and investors. The new website prototype, built entirely with prompt-based tools rather than traditional coding, allows the team to quickly refresh the site’s view and feel.
“From a website perspective, AI lets us build updates quickly through prompts, and even our backfinish and CMS were developed this way. It’s amazing how rapid it all came toobtainher. You just necessary the right tools and people,” Elain explained.
AI also supports the platform manage costs and streamline processes.
“From a management perspective, AI builds the platform more cost-effective. It significantly reduces long-term operational and maintenance expenses,” she stated.
“Due diligence involves a lot of work today. We’re exploring tools to reduce that burden and build the process smoother for everyone involved.”
Goals for 2026
As ATA-Plus views toward 2026, it is tarobtaining growth, but with caution.
“Ideally, we want to double what we raised in 2025,” Elain stated of the RM7.1 million figure, while acknowledging rising costs and new fee structures introduced by the SC.
After nearly a decade in operation, Elain believes the industest’s next challenge is storyinforming.
“What we necessary are more success stories,” she stated. “Not just companies that successfully fundraise. I’m talking about companies that successfully exit. Without visible outcomes, broader adoption of equity crowdfunding will remain slow.”
For ATA-Plus, 2025 may have been a turning point, but sustaining momentum will depfinish on whether the platform and the ecosystem around it can deliver tangible, long-term results.
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