MADCash Sdn. Bhd., a fintech startup focused on providing zero-interest microfunds to women entrepreneurs, has announced the successful completion of its pre-series A funding round, securing MYR 5 million ($1.06 million) investment.
MADCash said in a statement on Tuesday that the funding was led by Artem Ventures with strong support from MSW Ventures and ScaleUp Founders Fund.
According to the statement, these newly acquired funds will be used to enhance the Company’s online platform using AI technology, cover operational and marketing expenses, and explore expansion opportunities within the Southeast Asia region.
MADCash, which stands for Multiply, Assist, Donate Cash, funds and grows unbanked and underbanked women entrepreneurs, aiming to create an alternative credit scoring to increase their future bankability.
“We are thrilled to have new partners onboard at this critical juncture when we have so much in the work pipeline including launching MADCash Academy soon,
“With the support from Artem, MSW, and ScaleUp we can now make a bigger impact on society,” said Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin, Managing Director of MADCash.
The Kuala Lumpur-based Madcash is a fintech solutions provider that helps women achieve greater financial security by providing the capital, business, and financial acumen to grow their micro businesses.
The company runs on a proprietary technological platform that allows donors to contribute and see whom their funds are helping at any time.
By the end of this year, the firm is set to have extended its support to over 800 women. Among its partners are Hong Leong Islamic Bank, and PayNet.
In line with this growth, MADCash welcomes Musyrifah Malek as a Co-Founder. With her extensive legal background, she will be pivotal in advancing the Company’s corporate governance policy and practices, to help ensure MADCash’s success within its industry.
“By offering financial inclusion and capacity building to these groups of women entrepreneurs, MADCash is a platform that helps underserved entrepreneurs to build their credit scoring and sharpen their entrepreneurship skills,
“MADCash recognizes the importance of financial inclusion for closing the gap of poverty and gender inequality, which can lead to better economic growth in the SEA region,” said Tunku Omar Asraf, Principal of Artem Ventures.
Artem Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Malaysia. The firm currently manages TIM Ventures, a fund backed by FWD Group, that invests in early stage fintech and insurtech companies.
The fund has invested in 12 companies with the goal of driving financial inclusion and social security for underserved communities through digital access to financial and insurance products.
“Supporting the unbanked and underbanked has been a digital economy problem looking for a sustainable solution, especially in the development economy of micro-financed entrepreneurship,” MSW Ventures’ Jeffrey Seah said.
“Nuraizah has demonstrated a strong grasp of the complex and ever-changing agendas amongst the institutional and strategic stakeholders, forging a program-based business model that can serve to realize the potential of women entrepreneurs, providing them with a level of self-sufficiency beyond sustenance,
“This is my second cheque in support of Nuraizah’s MADCash, she epitomizes the characteristics of an Asia Fund X founder,” he added.
MSW Ventures supports Asia Fund X (AFX), a successor fund to Asia Fund II (AFII), is a firm searching for exceptional growth models and founders with the X factor within the transformative Digital Economy of Southeast Asia.
“We’re really proud of Nuraizah and her team and how far they have come. When she joined our accelerator program in 2022 MADCash had only supported 83 women with just $20,000 as microfunds,
“Since then, her team has really focused on raising more funds under management to $700,000 and improving their processes to deploy funds to more deserving women. MADCash demonstrates the quality of founders that we at ScaleUp aim to support all the way,” said Renuka Sena, Senior Partner at ScaleUp Malaysia.
ScaleUp Malaysia supercharges growth-stage startups, turning them into “Pegasus” companies—fast, profitable, and ready to soar.
Founded by veteran entrepreneurs and investors, their program offers tailored coaching, in-class training, and crucial equity investments.
Since 2020, they’ve deployed capital into 36 game-changing startups like ATX, AOne, Fefifo, Kiddocare, ERTH and Homa.
