EthisCrowd targets $740k for real estate crowdfunding project in Jakarta

EthisCrowd.com, a Shariah compliant crowdfunding platform, is looking to raise up to S$1 million ($740,000) for a real estate crowdfunding initiative from senior executives and delegates present at the Global Islamic Finance Forum (GIFF) 5.0 in Kuala Lumpur next month. The funds will be raised for the Depok Dream Village in Jakarta, Indonesia.

EthisCrowd founder Umar Munshi said the platform has secured an attractive piece of land in Depok, Greater Jakarta at 20 per cent below market for the Depok Dream Village. “We expect the projected returns to be 48 to 55 per cent over three to 3.5 years from a share of the development profits,” Munshi added. Depok Dream Village is an affordable cluster condo project. This low-rise condominium estate with more than 3,000 units will be developed as a high-quality, full-facility, eco-friendly, modern and intelligently designed estate.

“There will be an emphasis on beautiful landscapes, recreational and sports facilities, in addition to child-friendly play areas to give lower-income families the opportunity to experience a higher quality of life, at prices they can afford,” he added. “Cluster condos are a hot new concept in satellite towns around Jakarta, and recent projects in other towns aimed at the middle-class have sold out very quickly,” Ronald Wijaya said. Wijaya is the director of PT Ethis Indo Asia, an associate company that is also the co-developer for the project. GIFF, taking place from May 10 to 12 in its fifth iteration, is organised by the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), and is themed “Dream Big, Grow Beyond”.

AIBIM executive director Yusry Yusoff commented: “We are delighted to have Ethis coming on aboard GIFF’s business pitching sessions, a first for the forum. Business pitches and the Asean Fintech Challenge will be amongst the key highlights of GIFF which aims to encourage the Islamic financial industry to partner with innovators, and adopt new ideas in order to expand the reach of Islamic finance”.

EthisCrowd is a Singapore-based Islamic crowdfunding platform that focuses on social impact real estate crowdfunding. Its website noted that the platform has thus far processed S$3.6 million ($2.66 million) into projects to build 5,000 affordable homes, with a realised returns average of 10 per cent to 16 per cent. Munshi has also initiated the Islamic Fintech Alliance (IFT Alliance), alongside seven other crowdfunding platform founders. The alliance was launched earlier this month. The IFT Alliance is formed to facilitate the adoption of finance technology among Muslims, bringing Muslim-focused technologies and innovations in finance so as to better synergise and harmonize these initiatives.

“Muslims have different needs and wants when it comes to finance and trade. The rise of fintech represents a unique opportunity for Muslim-focused Finance Technology to serve a young and connected Muslim crowd, spread across the globe”, he said. The IFT Alliance will focus initially on Islamic crowdfunding, which is spreading rapidly in many regions. By July 2016, the alliance foresees the mushrooming of more than 30 active platforms that may be considered Islamic crowdfunding platforms.
Reported by dealstreetasia.com