Fintech Securities Crowdfunding (SCF) arrives as a breath of fresh air for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have frequently been hindered by strict collateral requirements from conventional banks. This scheme enables entrepreneurs to raise capital from numerous retail investors via digital platforms licensed by the Financial Services Authority (OJK), while simultaneously offering an inclusive investment instrument to the general public.
However, during a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) recently held in Pekanbaru, it was revealed that the effectiveness of SCF is still stymied by low public awareness. Although regulated under POJK 17/2025, many MSME owners and investors remain unfamiliar with how the instrument works and its advantages compared to both conventional capital markets and online lending services (pinjol).
Industry practitioners and academics from Universitas Indonesia highlighted that the future success of SCF heavily depends on widespread public outreach and continuous investor education. This information gap causes SCF—which actually offers better security compared to other digital financial instruments—to remain less popular among the general public than alternative financial products.
The success story of RSIA Annisa, which managed to increase stock value up to fourfold for its employees, serves as concrete proof of the potential returns of this crowdfunding model. This experience underscores that public trust in SCF currently grows more through personal recommendations rather than systematic campaigns by authorities or platform operators.
Experts also emphasized the need to evaluate existing regulations, particularly regarding issuer asset limits and time constraints on secondary market trading. Such flexibility is viewed as crucial so that investors have better leeway to execute their exit strategies, enabling SCF to transform into a truly effective capital bridge for the local economy.
