Khazanah managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir.
KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional Bhd has launched Jelawang Capital Sdn Bhd, known as the national fund-of-funds, following the consolidation of Malaysia Venture Capital Management and Penjana Kapital in July.
The launch is also pursuant to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement in Budget 2025.
Khazanah managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said Jelawang Capital signifies the sovereign wealth fund’s commitment to the growth of Malaysia’s venture capital (VC) ecosystem.
“Through this catalytic initiative, Jelawang Capital will continue to grow Malaysian fund managers while crowding-in regional fund managers with expertise and capital,” he said.
While the VC industry is an important source of innovation, economic growth and job creation, he pointed out that based on research by Startup Genome, only 1.5% of startups in the best US VC hubs enjoyed meaningful financial returns on their investment.
This is defined by a successful exit of US$50mil or more, a scenario which illustrates 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,” said Amirul Feisal in a statement yesterday.
Khazanah’s head of Dana Impak Bryan Lim, who has also been appointed Jelawang Capital chief executive, said the fund is named after the tallest waterfall in Malaysia.
Elaborating from the illustration, he said Khazanah’s vision for the local VC ecosystem begins with the provision of capital to fund managers, which will in turn cascade to high-potential startups.
In shoring up this ecosystem, he said Khazanah is looking forward to working with like-minded partners and investors.
Khazanah highlighted that Jelawang Capital would spearhead two initiatives, namely the Emerging Fund Managers’ Programme (EMP) and the Regional Managers’ Initiative (RMI).
The EMP aims to nurture promising Malaysian VC fund managers to raise their first, second or third fund, and is open to Malaysian general partners (GPs) based in Malaysia or abroad.
“The EMP seeks to support Malaysian fund managers to establish their track record and increase their competitiveness in the VC ecosystem.
“Jelawang Capital will act as an anchor for Malaysian GPs to gain traction and crowd-in further capital from other local or international investors. Aside from capital support, the EMP aspires to support GPs to develop crucial areas such as fund management, investment operations and talent management,” it said.
Meanwhile, the RMI aims to elevate Malaysia’s startup ecosystem through strategic partnerships with regional VC firms to attract international fund managers.
Khazanah said this includes supporting the growth of startups to be regional and global players, as well as facilitating the redomiciling of global companies in the country to expand local job capabilities.
“In addition, Jelawang Capital welcomes established venture generators to unearth new entrepreneurs and support the growth of existing ones in Malaysia,” it added.
