8 foreign VCs and local partners invest up to US$389mil via Dana Penjana Nasional

• To create 1,800 jobs; strong interest in Malaysia’s prospects and startups
• Some investments into Asian companies, on condition Malaysia benefits as well

Seven months after it was first announced, the Malaysian government, through Penjana Kapital Sdn Bhd (Penjana Kapital), has announced it has attracted eight venture capital (VC) fund managers from the USA, South Korea, China, Indonesia and Singapore to invest in Malaysian startups as part of the US$297 million (RM1.2 billion) Dana Penjana Nasional programme.

Dana Penjana Nasional is a matching fund-of-funds programme, which is part of the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) launched in June 2020. The Government of Malaysia will match up to US$149 million (RM600 million), on a 1:1 basis, funds raised by the VC fund managers from foreign and private local investors, with a target allocation of RM1.2 billion.

Exceeding this target however, the selected fund managers have indicated additional investments, to achieve a maximum fund size of RM1.57 billion, or RM370 million above the original allocation of RM1.2 billion.

[RM1 = US$0.24]

These funds will be deployed primarily into Malaysian startups, with selected investments into Asian investee companies as well, on condition that these can bring tangible economic benefits to the Malaysian economy.

The successful VC fund managers bring with them deep knowledge in key sectors that have seen accelerated digitalisation in the post Covid-19 era. The target core sectors include fintech, edutech, agritech, mobility and artificial intelligence.

In welcoming these foreign VC fund managers, Minister of Finance Malaysia, Tengku Zafrul, says, “Their encouraging participation, through local VC partners, indicates strong interest in the growth prospects of the Malaysian economy and its startups. I have every confidence that the deployment of these funds will spur our startup ecosystem and encourage these startups to innovate and grow quickly. I wish Penjana Kapital all the success in developing the domestic startup space, which is also expected to create at least 1,800 quality, high-skilled jobs,” said Tengku Zafrul during the Letter of Award ceremony.

The eight VC fund managers and their local partners were selected after an evaluation and due diligence process by the Investment Panel of Penjana Kapital. They have been selected for the different VC lifecycle stages, as follows: