This article first appeared in Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 25, 2026 – May 31, 2026
Investors looking to invest in venture capital (VC)-backed, later-stage private companies could soon get a chance through an equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform under the Malaysia Co-Investment Fund’s (MyCIF) VC/Private Equity (PE) Profit-Sharing Incentive.
Gobi Partners and OSK Ventures International Bhd (OSKVI) are the first two VCs to publicly commit under the framework, with both firms now actively evaluating deals across their pipelines and in discussions with ECF platform operators, including Pitch Platforms Sdn Bhd and 1337 Ventures Sdn Bhd, on structuring the first transactions.
Under this incentive, a VC or PE firm would lead the deal, invest its own capital, help structure the transaction and remain involved after the fundraising, while the ECF platform provides the regulated fundraising infrastructure, investor onboarding, nominee arrangements and campaign management.
Gobi aims to bring later-stage, high-profile private companies onto ECF platforms, such as Muslim Pro or even Carsome, which are consumer-facing businesses whose products or services are already familiar to potential investors.
The idea is to open up a small allocation in a larger VC-backed round, where Gobi is also investing, to qualified investors who want deal-by-deal exposure to these companies rather than committing to a blind-pool VC fund, says Thomas Tsao, co-founder and chairperson of Asia-focused VC firm Gobi Partners.
Tsao says a company like Muslim Pro could be suitable because it is later-stage, recognisable and consumer-facing, allowing users who already rely on the app to invest in a small part of its next funding round and become shareholders alongside institutional investors.
Muslim Pro is a Muslim lifestyle app owned by Bitsmedia, which is already in Gobi’s portfolio and has a large user base.
“The companies we would put on for the first couple of [deals] are going to be very high-profile, later-stage companies … and we can achieve an exit in a shorter timeframe, as these companies are at a much later stage,” says Tsao, who is also a member of MyCIF’s steering committee.
“We expect to be selective in the opportunities we pursue, as our focus is ultimately on quality and alignment rather than transaction volume. We are currently evaluating multiple opportunities under this framework across several sectors.” – Ong, OSKVI (Photo by OSK Ventures International)
Meanwhile, OSKVI is looking at operationally resilient Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro-SMEs (MSMEs) with real customers, recurring cash flow and clearer growth paths.
“We have always believed that good businesses do not necessarily fit neatly into a traditional VC box. Every year, we come across many Malaysian SMEs and MSMEs that are fundamentally strong businesses with real customers, recurring cash flow, profitable operations and long operating histories, but may not resemble the typical ‘hypergrowth tech start-up’ associated with conventional VC investing,” says Amelia Ong, OSKVI’s executive director.
Its target sectors include healthcare and food security-related businesses, manufacturing, equipment leasing, fast-moving consumer goods and operationally resilient SMEs undergoing modernisation or expansion.
No fixed number of deals has been planned for either firm this year. “We expect to be selective in the opportunities we pursue, as our focus is ultimately on quality and alignment rather than transaction volume. We are currently evaluating multiple opportunities under this framework across several sectors,” says Ong.
OSKVI is currently working with pitchIN and 1337 Ventures. Gobi, meanwhile, is open to working with any ECF platform, with the choice likely depending on the company that is raising funds, as it may already have relationships with particular platforms.
MyCIF was established by the Ministry of Finance and is administered by the Securities Commission Malaysia to co-invest in MSMEs and social enterprises alongside private investors via ECF and peer-to-peer financing platforms.
Under the VC/PE Profit-Sharing Incentive, MyCIF as a co-investor will share 50% of its profits with VC and PE lead investors that successfully deliver exits on these investments.
“The companies we would put on for the first couple of [deals] are going to be very high-profile, later-stage companies … and we can achieve an exit in a shorter timeframe, as these companies are at a much later stage.” – Tsao, Gobi Partners (Photo by Gobi Partners)
Not about offloading ‘unwanted deals’
The question investors might have is whether these VCs are trying to offload unwanted deals onto the platform, but both Gobi and OSKVI maintain that the structure is not about passing weak companies to the crowd.
Under the framework, the VC must also invest in the same fundraising round, meaning it has its own capital at risk and ECF investors come in alongside it on the exact same valuation and terms, says Tsao.
He says investors who enter alongside Gobi would get the same terms and exit rights as the VC. If Gobi invests in a Series B round of a start-up, for example, ECF investors participating in that allocation would also receive Series B terms. Whatever exit Gobi receives, co-investors would receive the same.
Ong adds: “Importantly, under this framework, lead investors are also required to have meaningful skin in the game by anchoring part of the transaction themselves.”
For Gobi, the ECF allocation would be only a small portion of a larger funding round, and most likely in later-stage companies that are already attractive to institutional investors. Tsao says the challenge may in fact be the opposite: if the deal is good, existing limited partners or institutional investors may ask why allocation is being opened to outside investors.
The deals also do not have to come only from Gobi’s existing portfolio. They could be existing or new investments, but the key condition is that Gobi must be putting money into the same round.
Tsao does not view Gobi and other VC players’ role as extending a helping hand to ECF platforms to improve their exit rate, nor as a purely altruistic exercise. He says the aim is to add an institutional layer to selected ECF deals while helping to deepen Malaysia’s private capital ecosystem.
“There are many, many wealthy investors in Malaysia. They may not want to go in at an early stage because they want a shorter holding period and the comfort of having an institution behind it.
“The thought with this programme was: Why don’t we bring in later-stage companies, led by a VC, and then high-net-worth individuals or family offices could co-invest alongside? That way, you deepen the market,” says Tsao.
There is also a business case for Gobi. If the firm brings strong deals to the platform and these individual deals perform, it could build credibility with high-net-worth investors and family offices that may later invest directly into Gobi’s blind-pool funds.
Ong adds that the initiative allows OSKVI to raise funds from individual investors and to invest in strong Malaysian SMEs and MSMEs that may not fit into a conventional VC mandate, but still have real operating businesses, recurring cash flow and expansion potential. These are not classic venture-backed tech companies from its existing portfolio.
She says: “Traditional VC funding is often more suited for businesses pursuing aggressive scaling or rapid regional expansion, where investors may underwrite several years of losses in exchange for potentially outsized returns.
“Under this initiative, the ECF route may be more suitable for businesses with stronger operational foundations, clearer revenue visibility and more sustainable growth trajectories.”
That being said, Tsao and Ong point out that investors are still exposed to the risks of private-market investing such as execution risk, market risk, competitive risk and the possibility that an exit may take longer than expected, or may not happen at all.
The fee model for VC-led ECF deals has not been finalised. Tsao says investors may have to pay both the usual ECF platform fee and an additional fee to the VC, but the amount has not been decided and will depend on what the ECF operator and VC agree on. He also says some form of carry, or profit-sharing, may apply.
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