Malaysia’s Jelawang Capital, a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, has named Taiwan’s AppWorks and Singapore’s Granite Asia among the first five venture capital firms selected under two strategic programmes aimed at transforming Malaysia into a regional venture capital hub.
The other three venture capital firms are First Move, Kairous Capital, and Vynn Capital, Khazanah says in a statement on June 24.
AppWorks and Granite Asia were selected under the Regional Fund Managers’ Initiatives (RMI), an initiative aimed to attract regional and global fund managers who are committed to nurture local startups and develop them into regional and global companies.
First Move, Kairous Capital, and Vynn Capital were selected under the Emerging Fund Managers’ Programme (EMP), a programme structured to support Malaysian fund managers in raising their first, second or third fund with the goal of creating regionally competitive venture capital fund managers.
Jelawang Capital, a national fund of funds with an initial allocation of 1 billion ringgit (US$240 million), will be investing via these five venture capital funds.
Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, managing director of Khazanah, says Jelawang Capital’s focus is not just on capital, but on crowding in participants to build an ecosystem where innovation can thrive and enhance Malaysia’s economic competitiveness.
“We know this is not an easy journey. Building an ecosystem is slow, uncertain work. But if done right, the payoffs are exponential,” he says.