Malaysian fintech, MADCash, raises US$1.06mil pre-Series A to empower women entrepreneurs

• Led by Artem Ventures, support from MSW Ventures & ScaleUp Founders Fund
• Helps underserved founders build credit scoring, sharpen entrepreneur skills

MADCash Sdn Bhd, a fintech startup focused on providing zero-interest microfunds to women entrepreneurs, announced the successful completion of its pre-series A funding round, securing RM5 million investment led by Artem Ventures with strong support from MSW Ventures and ScaleUp Founders Fund. These newly acquired funds will be used to enhance the company’s platform using AI, 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.

Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin, founder and Managing Director of MADCash said, “We are thrilled to have new partners onboard at this critical juncture when we have so much in the pipeline including launching MADCash Academy soon. With the support from Artem, MSW, and ScaleUp we can now make a bigger impact on society!”

Tunku Omar Asraf, Principal of Artem Ventures said, “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.”

MSW Ventures’ Jeffrey Seah said, “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. 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.”

“We’re really proud of Nuraizah and her team and how far they have come,” remarks Renuka Sena, Senior Partner at ScaleUp Malaysia. “When she joined our accelerator program in 2022 MADCash had only supported 83 women with just US$20,000 in microfunds. Since then, her team has really focused on raising more funds under management to US$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.”

By the end of this year, MADCash 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.