Blog

Still in university and with no industry experience, Mr Tengku Ahmad Syamil and Mr Syakir Hashim joined competitions and met with potential investors, hoping to raise funds to set up a crowdfunding platform that would link needy undergraduates with generous sponsors.

It was to no avail. The investors didn’t see potential in their idea and did not believe in the young team. “No one wanted to listen to us because we were just two young boys,” recounted Mr Syamil, 25, co-founder of scholarship crowdfunding platform Skolafund.

But the duo were undeterred. So in December 2014, they dipped into their savings to hire developers to build a website. “We knew that it would be buggy and crappy based on our limited budget but we wanted to prove that the model can work,” said Mr Syamil, who came up with the idea after seeing a Facebook post from a fellow undergrad at the International Islamic University Malaysia seeking financial aid and the subsequent offers of help.

Their determination paid off and soon after launching the website in April last year, they were selected for an accelerator programme in Singapore, which provided mentorship and funding of S$24,500 to financial technology start-ups. “Once we got into the programme, suddenly a lot of people were interested in us and welcomed us to their offices. We got to meet directly with the CEOs,” he recounted. Finally, Skolafund was up and running. One year on, 42 campaigns have been launched, 25 of which have been successful. Among them, 22-year-old Razlan Ibrahim Mukhtar, who lost his eyesight at age 10, raised close to RM6,000 (S$2,033) from the public before Malaysian telco Maxis, through Skolafund, offered him a RM300,000 scholarship to study at the University of South Australia in June last year. While Skolafund is only available in Malaysia now, plans are underway to launch the site in Singapore by July. Unlike in Malaysia where the focus is on raising university fees, the campaigns in Singapore will focus on raising funds for overseas internships or overseas activities like exchange programmes and community projects, said Mr Syamil, who was accepted into a university here but chose to study in Malaysia.

Skolafund has received about 20 funding requests from students and parents here.

For his work on Skolafund, Mr Syamil was selected by Forbes for its inaugural 30 Under 30 Asia list — which features 300 promising people under the age of 30 from 10 sectors – and invited to its Under 30 Summit Asia in Singapore. The listees were selected by industry leaders based on qualities such as creativity, use of technology and adaptability. Mr Syamil, a Singaporean, was selected under the social entrepreneurs category and is one of 24 people on Forbes’ list based in Singapore.

“Getting recognised by Forbes gives us that morale boost and the signal that we should keep on persevering,” said Mr Syamil in an interview with TODAY. “It also enhances the Skolafund team’s credibility and somewhere down the line, investors will take us more seriously and support us.”

Students in need can sign up for free and the Skolafund team will verify the application. During the campaign period, capped at 30 days, the team helps spread the word on social media and via “influencers”. If the target is met, Skolafund transfers the funds to the school and to students as allowance. Otherwise, the money raised will be refunded and sponsors can either cash out or contribute to another campaign.

(Click to enlarge. Source: Skolafund.com)

Skolafund takes a 5 per cent commission on each successful campaign. The team consists of two others, Mr Wildan Zulfikar, 21, and Mr Faruq Rasid, 25. All four members of the team are still studying — two of them are studying in Malaysia while the other two are at the National University of Singapore. Mr Syamil, who is studying business administration, said he intends to focus on Skolafund full time after he graduates in 2017.

Mr Syamil said the team also intends to launch in Indonesia. “Ultimately, we want Skolafund to be the best higher education financing platform in Asia. In five years’ time, we really hope to develop more ways for students to receive and manage their funds for universities,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com