The first few months of any start-up business are often tough and shaky, and dealing with a pandemic on top of that only exacerbates that reality. During the latest episode of The Boardroom, Leanda Keith, Co-Founder and CEO of SECURA, shared the past few months for her at the helm of a start-up company have been “very vague”.

“We are going through a phase of making big decisions right now, where and how we’re going to develop, especially because investment isn’t really out there currently. Investors don’t really have the capital to give to start-ups like ourselves, which has hit us quite hard,” says Ms Keith. “I do have peers who have managed to pivot their ideas to help their start-up grow during this difficult period, but doing this depends on the start-up, its ideas and the stage that it is in.”

SECURA is developing an online platform to digitalise the rental process, acting as an improved version of a ‘real-life’ rental agreement, protecting the security deposit and facilitating rent collection.

Without a source of funding, however, her business’s ability to take off is still uncertain. “It is vital that start-ups acquire investment and funding. It is not all about the funding, it is a lot about the skills, the team and the drive, but funding is a massive part of a start-up succeeding.”

She adds that through organisations such as Silicon Valletta, local start-ups have a helping hand in sourcing funding and developing their ideas to help them succeed. However, “going down the route of a bank loan, I think I can speak for everybody that it’s not the most practical or ideal route” for a start-up, she adds.

Ms Keith believes that, especially in recent months, Malta’s tech industry has advanced and boomed, contrary to other sectors, such as culture, which have suffered the weight of the pandemic. “Everybody is online now and exploring ‘techy’ options – including non-tech industries that are exploring ways of having a tech element in their businesses,” she asserts, adding that start-ups in particular have found ways to put themselves online to keep their business idea growing and developing.

Speaking of what she would like to see as a form of support for start-ups, Ms Keith says although there is an ecosystem locally that encourages start-up growth, it is still in its infancy. “I’ve lived here for 15 years and noticed that entrepreneurship and creating a start-up aren’t really embraced from a young age. They are not taught or pushed in schools,” she explains.

If policy-makers worked to introduce this start-up culture to the island and its education system, especially from early school years, Ms Keith believes Malta could be a great place for start-ups.

“There could be a strong ecosystem locally – because of its size, and because it is a great place to test products and to live,” says Ms Keith. “Also, there are many industries here that are saturated, such as real estate, catering and the construction industries. If start-ups were to bloom and flourish in Malta, it would really help create a stronger economy as a whole.”

Sharing her thoughts to other up-and-coming entrepreneurs eager to enter the start-up space, Ms Keith says, “my advice to anybody with an idea is to go for it and not be afraid, and to ask for help wherever necessary. There are many organisations around that can help start-ups – I went through one myself, I attended the MITA programme and it really did help me. Don’t be afraid to ask for help wherever possible and when needed.”