Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional, has launched Jelawang Capital, a national fund-of-funds designed to accelerate the growth of Malaysia’s venture capital sector.
This initiative follows the merger of Malaysia Venture Capital Management and Penjana Kapital in July and aligns with the Prime Minister’s MADANI Budget 2025 announcement.
Jelawang Capital will be led by Bryan Lim, Khazanah’s Head of Dana Impak, which aims to strengthen Malaysia’s startup ecosystem by providing capital to fund managers, who will then invest in promising startups.
To achieve this, Jelawang Capital is focusing on two key programs: the Emerging Fund Managers’ Programme (EMP) and the Regional Managers’ Initiative (RMI).
The EMP is aimed at nurturing Malaysian venture capital fund managers by enabling them to raise capital and build their competitiveness in the sector.
It provides targeted support in fund management, investment operations, and talent management, essential areas for institutionaliSing and enhancing the capabilities of these managers.
The EMP is open for proposals until 31 December 2024, with applications to be submitted to emp@jelawangcapital.com.
Further participation opportunities in the EMP will be available in the second half of 2025.
Meanwhile, the RMI will establish partnerships with international venture capital firms, supporting Malaysian startups as they expand regionally and globally.
This initiative also seeks to facilitate the redomiciling of global companies in Malaysia, fostering a local presence that could enhance job creation and innovation.
Regional managers aligned with these strategic objectives are invited to submit proposals to rmi@jelawangcapital.com.
Dato’ Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, Managing Director, Khazanah said,
“The VC industry is an important source of innovation, economic growth and job creation for the nation. However, based on research by Startup Genome, only 1.5% of startups in the best US VC hubs enjoy meaningful financial returns on their investment i.e. a successful exit of US$50 million or more, illustrating the high inherent risk and challenges associated with this asset class.
As such, nothing short of an all-of-nation approach will be needed for us to increase the odds of success. While capital is a key building block to a vibrant VC ecosystem, other critical success factors include the ease of doing business, availability of talent, and deepening of technology and know-how. As innovation is borderless, it is this combination of capital, effective regulation, talent and technology that will determine the future of Malaysia.”
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
