Malaysian event venues and services booking platform VMO announced on Friday that it has raised RM500,000 (US$115,000) through equity crowdfunding site CrowdPlus and Cradle Fund.

VMO raised the first RM250,000 (US$57,500) from 13 investors through a campaign that lasted for four days, offering 14.3 per cent equity to its investors. The startup becomes the eight successful campaign that CrowdPlus has facilitated.

The remaining RM250,000 was secured from Cradle Fund.

In a press statement, VMO Chief Eventgelist Vincent Kok said that the campaign was “slightly oversubscribed” as it was about to end. He also said that the success of the campaign has boosted the company’s credibility as “a viable business in a new frontier for investment in this region.”

The startup plans to use the new funding to fuel market expansion, advertising and marketing efforts, as well as supporting tech development.

The platform currently listed 900 event venues in Klang Valley, Penang, Ipoh, Malacca and Johor Bahru, and is targetting to grow the number to 1,500.

“At the moment, we are only scratching the surface. We still have a lot of room to grow and a lot of work to be done,” said Kok.

In September 2016, VMO secured an undisclosed strategic investment from F&B company Rhombus Food Holding (RFH).

The platform was publicly launched in March 2016. VMO stated that at the end of December 2016, it has received RM39 million (US$9 million) in inquiry value, compared to RM9.5 million (US$2.1 million) in 2015.

It also stated that the value of bookings has increased “more than five times” from RM223,000 (US$51,000) in 2015 to RM1.19 million (US$274,000) in 2016.

Other Malaysian startups that have successfully raised investment through equity crowdfunding platforms are Babydash, KakiTangan, and RunningMan.

Source: https://e27.co/vmo-raises-funding-cradle-fund-equity-crowdfunding-20170502/, 2 May 2017