diff --git a/lib/helper/ApiDataFactory.js b/lib/helper/ApiDataFactory.js
index 12a587c0d..e8f9c5dd6 100644
--- a/lib/helper/ApiDataFactory.js
+++ b/lib/helper/ApiDataFactory.js
@@ -309,7 +309,8 @@ class ApiDataFactory extends Helper {
       } catch (e) {
         modulePath = path.join(global.codecept_dir, modulePath);
       }
-      const builder = require(modulePath);
+      // check if the new syntax `export default new Factory()` is used and loads the builder, otherwise loads the module that used old syntax `module.exports = new Factory()`.
+      const builder = require(modulePath).default || require(modulePath);
       return builder.build(data, options);
     } catch (err) {
       throw new Error(`Couldn't load factory file from ${modulePath}, check that