Acknowledging the importance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to the Malaysian economy, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has facilitated the development of market-based crowdfunding platforms through the introduction of equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer financing (P2P financing) frameworks (“Frameworks”). The Frameworks allow businesses and entrepreneurs in this segment with innovative business ideas to raise funds through the capital market. Since the introduction of the Frameworks, the alternative fundraising avenues have continued to gain traction with total funds raised amounting to RM 1.34 billion in 2020.

As part of the ongoing efforts to enhance the ecosystem for Shariah-compliant fund raising activities through the ECF and P2P financing platforms, the SC introduces the Shariah Screening Assessment Toolkit for the Unlisted Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (“Toolkit”) as a guidance in screening the Shariah status of the MSMEs in the unlisted market. The Toolkit is intended to benefit the ECF and P2P financing platform operators, Shariah advisers, as well as any interested parties. The Toolkit includes a series of assessment questions that are based on the Shariah screening methodology for the MSMEs, which has been endorsed by the Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) of SC.