New Player SCF Ekuid Targets Creative Industries to Make It Easier to Get Business Capital

Startups crowdfunding securities (CFS) Ekuid targets the creative industry sector as a target for users who want to obtain funding through securities (bonds) or SCF. The company has officially obtained permission from the OJK as an SCF through Decree Number KEP-11/D.04/2022.

Contacted DailySocial.id, Director Equid Bayu Aji Prakoso said the reason his party is targeting the creative sector is because it is considered special, has high potential, and has good resilience in facing various dynamics --- as proven during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Even though they have the ability to survive, the creative industry is still required to continue to increase its competitiveness, so that it is able to compete in the era of globalization," he said.

Indonesia itself has a population creative economy actors which is large and capable of producing intellectual property to become added value in advancing prosperity. Therefore, the company is here to create and develop a creative economic ecosystem. The aim is to contribute to the national economy and increase global competitiveness in order to achieve sustainable development goals.

"Apart from that, Ekuid wants to have a positive impact on creative workers to get welfare like workers in other sectors/industries."

In analyzing each funding proposal, Bayu admitted that the company refers to Government Regulation Number 24 of 2022. It states that intellectual property (IP) is one of the non-tangible assets in Indonesia, as a form of collateral object to financing institutions to obtain credit.

To mitigate risks, Ekuid carries out a number of processes before providing IP-based financing, namely:

1. Verification and/or due diligence on creative economy businesses;
2. Verify the registration letter or Intellectual Property certificate which is used as collateral that can be executed in the event of a dispute or non-dispute;
3. Verify and access account on DSP (digital store platform) on Intellectual Property;
4. Valuation of Intellectual Property used as collateral.

Not only that, the company also continues to sharpen and deepen the ecosystem. This is marked by the fact that since the last year, the company has collaborated with one of the music promoters, namely the One Night Party (PSM) and online ticketing platform. This step was taken to mitigate risks in supervising and monitoring concert ticket sales as a source of financing returns.

On the website, there are 14 financing projects that have been funded through Ekuid. All of these projects are funded in the form of debt securities (bonds). In detail, five music concert projects, one national film project, two beauty clinic projects, one project for recycling production, one hydroponic fruit and vegetable financing project, two media projects online, and one financing project for a VR company. The total funds reached IDR 7,6 billion.

Offer minimal investment

In contrast to most SCF players, Ekuid actually attracts retail investors with an affordable investment nominal, starting from IDR 100 thousand. Bayu reasoned that this step was taken as an education for novice investors before getting to know more about the investment products available in Indonesia.

"The problem here is that the Indonesian people still have minimal knowledge regarding investment, especially regarding digital investment. This can be seen from the many cases of fraudulent investment which claimed many victims. [..] Ekuid, which has been licensed and supervised by the OJK, is here to support the government in its efforts to provide education to the public, especially novice investors."

The company also supports the Anti-Money Laundering and Prevention of Terrorism Financing (APU PPT) program in accordance with OJK directions by carrying out KYC on investors and/or issuers. As well as, collaborating with credit bureaus that have permission from the OJK as an added value in analyzing the credit worthiness of the issuer.

In the future, the company will continue to study market needs, develop products and business models that generate sustainable profits, so that the company does not pursue growth as quickly as possible. Therefore, so far the company has not planned to raise funding, but has focused on strategies to ensure the future of the business and secure business continuity.

“Ekuid hopes to act as an established foundation and will continue to explore this opportunity further and never be satisfied with the existing system. "All of this is done of course with the hope that creative economy actors who are also intellectual property owners can open up more job opportunities and contribute more widely to state income from the creative economy sector," concluded Bayu.