Kuala Lumpur, 15 May 2021 – Ata Plus, an online Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) platform and a registered Recognised Market Operator with the Securities Commission Malaysia, announced that it has appointed Elain Lockman as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in addition to her role as Co-Founder and Director. This appointment takes effect May 1, 2021 onwards.
“Elain has been instrumental, not only in the expansion of Ata Plus, but also in the country’s regulated crowdfunding space,” said Kyri Andreou, Co-Founder and Director of Ata Plus. “Being also the President of the Registered Digital Markets Association Malaysia, Elain has always worked hard alongside the Securities Commission (SC) to push impactful agendas that promote wider access for startups and SMEs to raise capital. Her passion to spur the industry’s growth has also led her to work closely with the SC in providing a more diverse investment portfolio to the Malaysian public. Her contributions as CEO will further mark Ata Plus’ commitment to innovation and integrity, and continued need to raise the standards,” Kyri added.
Since its launch in 2016, Ata Plus has seen a steady growth in revenue of approximately 2,693% and a tremendous 128% increase in global investments. To date, despite economic uncertainties inflicted by an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the company has undergone encouraging success with the listing of 50 companies on its platform, harnessed its pool of 400 over investors from across 10 countries, inspired 58% of ECF participation from Gen-Y investors, and welcomed a 427% increase in average investment amounts.
Co-Founder and Director, Aimi Aizal Nasharuddin asserted, “Elain’s appointment as CEO goes to show that Ata Plus believes in female leadership and welcomes diversity of thought while empowering stakeholders regardless of gender, creed, race or ethnicity. Elain’s unique ability to think strategically as a business owner and an industry player will also greatly benefit the company to expand on its services and offerings to Malaysian entrepreneurs. We strongly believe her new role will be a catalyst for more gender equity in the industry, simultaneously inviting opportunities for the business – both at regional and global levels.”
Focused on strengthening Ata Plus’ partnerships, deal flows and operational framework, Elain’s foresight to promote empowerment for all parties mirror the company’s mission to uphold financial inclusion and the democratisation of wealth. Some of her notable efforts with the SC include the introduction of the Malaysia Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF), the recent lifting of Malaysia’s equity crowdfunding limit to RM20 million, the enhancement on requirements for qualified entities for ECF and the tax rebates for investors who partake in ECF.
In 2020, Elain was recognised by Digital News Asia as one of the ‘2020/2021 Batch of Digerati50’ for being bold, brave and inspirational in pushing the boundaries of Malaysia’s Digital Economy. The year before that, Elain was presented the ‘BERG 2019 Women Icons Malaysia’ – an award to honour her involvement, achievement and leadership in FinTech. Graduated with a BSc in Actuarial Science and MSc in Operational Research from the
London School of Economics, Elain currently sits as a Board Member of Reservoir Link Berhad and Daya Materials Berhad. She has also championed the areas of management, business strategy, human resources, business development, relationship management, marketing and corporate communications throughout her career. Elain has served notable organisations that include Petronas, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysia Debt Ventures, Digi Telecommunications and Packet One Networks. She was also on the Board of Western Union Payments Malaysia and served as Chairman of Western Union Internal Audit Committee.
In line with this appointment, both Co-Founders and Directors of Ata Plus – Kyri Andreou and Aimi Aizal Nasharuddin will respectively assume the roles of Executive Directors. This reassignment of roles will also enable Kyri and Aimi to focus on regional and global expansion, as well as launch new verticals for related financial services. “ECF has demonstrated itself to be a viable option for fast growing SMEs and an increasingly attractive investment class for progressive investors, particularly technology-savvy retail investors,” according to Kyri. “However, we also have to be mindful of the fast-moving and changing space we operate in, and the need to continuously innovate and progress,” Kyri added.
To this cause, Ata Plus has plans to eventually list. “Our vision requires us to make considerable investments in both technology and regulatory infrastructure so as to readily facilitate the new products and services we plan to launch in the short to medium term,” said Aimi. “We feel that going public serves our needs best as it is in line with our philosophy to democratise investments by allowing public participation at this relatively early stage of our growth,” Aimi added.
“I hope the progress we’re sharing is emblematic of more announcements to come from Ata Plus,’ Kyri concluded.
