Khazanah rolls out grand plan to elevate Malaysian startups
Khazanah subsidiary Jelawang Capital is a 'fund-of-funds' tasked with backing a new generation of local venture managers. (Reuters pic)
PETALING JAYA : Khazanah Nasional Bhd, via its subsidiary Jelawang Capital, announced today a partnership with five venture capital (VC) firms under an ambitious initiative to nurture and grow Malaysian startups.
The move, under its Emerging Fund Managers' Programme (EMP) and Regional Fund Managers' Initiative (RMI), is aimed at strengthening local fund manager capabilities and bringing global VC expertise into the country's VC ecosystem.
Khazanah managing director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said the five – three Malaysian and two regional fund managers – are expected to deploy over RM200 million.
'A significant portion of this will be channelled into Malaysia-Nexus companies, supporting around 50 early-stage firms,' he said when unveiling the VC firms today.
'Our hope is that these five managers will help nurture the next wave of Malaysian startups, and that over time, those startups and funders will become the mentors, backers, and anchors for the next generation,' he said.
The Malaysia-based firms under the EMP are Vynn Capital, Kairous Capital, and First Move while the regional firms under the RMI are Granite Asia and AppWorks.
Granite Asia is a leading multi-stage investor focussed on transformative opportunities across Asia, with a track record of building over 115 unicorns and achieving 61 initial public offerings (IPOs) globally.
AppWorks is an early-stage VC from Taiwan that aims to scale Greater Southeast Asia's tech startups. The firm's investment mandate is in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and digital economy in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia.
Amirul stated they will back startups that 'dare to build, dare to scale, and carry Malaysia's ambition into the region and beyond'.
The selection of these partners is aligned with the government's Malaysian Venture Capital Roadmap 2024–2030 to transform Malaysia into a preferred regional VC hub by 2030.
This first group of appointees marks a milestone in the broader RM1 billion committed under the Madani economic framework to support high-growth startups.
Amirul also explained that Jelawang was designed not as a fund manager, but as a 'fund-of-funds' with two goals – to back a new generation of local venture managers and to crowd in global and regional players who can raise the bar and widen the net.
Finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said the commitment into these fund managers marks a pivotal step towards catalysing Malaysia's VC ecosystem.
'This announcement together with the recent progress of Kuala Lumpur entering the Top 20 Emerging Startup Ecosystems globally, is a testament to what coordinated ambitions can begin to unlock,' he said.
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