Malaysian boutique investment firm Emissary Capital has received US$25 million from state-run Penjana Kapital.
The money will be invested as a Limited Partner to Emissary Capital Growth Fund 1 (ECGF I), a new US$50-million VC fund jointly launched last month by Emissary and New Wave, a subsidiary of Philippines-based IP E-Game Ventures.
ECGF I aims to invest in Southeast Asia’s tech companies, especially in the agritech, fintech, healthcare and other key digital verticals. It aims to build stronger collaboration between startups in the ASEAN region, with a key focus on the Malaysian and Philippine markets.
Also Read: Philippine’s New Wave joins hands with Emissary Capital to launch US$50M fund for ASEAN startups
Under this partnership, New Wave had invested up to US$7.5 million as an LP and joined as a General Partner to manage the fund.
Enrique Gonzalez, Director at New Wave, said that more cross-border investment and expansion opportunities between Malaysia and the Philippines is a vital part of this limited partnership.
“Investments are key to long-term economic growth and productivity as part of the government’s efforts to enhance its startup-enabling environment to generate business opportunities, especially in sectors with high multiplier effects for the economy,” Finance Minister Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said.
Incorporated in June 2020 by Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance, Penjana was formed with an initial allocation of US$290 million (RM 1.2B) to drive Malaysia’s economic recovery via digitalisation of businesses. One of its key purposes is to push tech and automation of local businesses with the help of international and local investors.
In addition to addressing the short-term funding needs of the startups, Penjana also aims to establish Knowledge Transfer Plans (KTPs) to set the clear goal of the startups. This is aligned with Malaysia’s long-term objective of becoming a knowledge-based economy with high value products and services.
In September, Penjana announced its request for proposals (RFP) to invest in companies within four stages: seed/co-creation, Series A/B, growth-stage and venture debt.
Malaysia ranked 13 out of 125 countries in the 2018 Venture Capital (VC) & Private equity (PE) country attractiveness index, while the Philippines ranked 42nd.
Kuala Lumpur and Manila are also being seen as the top emerging startup ecosystems in the world, ranking 11th and 31st respectively in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020 (GSER 2020).
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