Left to right: Raymond Hor (Orbit Malaysia), Matthijs “Matt” van Leeuwen (Sunway Group), Alex Tan (Orbit Malaysia), Muhammad Syafiq Shamsuddin (MAVCAP)
Indonesia-based venture capital (VC) firm Kejora Capital today announced a partnership with Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group to launch Orbit Malaysia Fund, a US$25 million fund for startups in the country.
The company also named Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad (MAVCAP) as its anchor investor.
It will be led by Raymond Hor as Fund Director.
Orbit Malaysia is a regional Series-A-stage fund with a focus on creating cross-border partnerships between industry players. It aims to invest in startups in the fintech, agritech, e-commerce, edutech and health tech sectors.
In a press statement, the fund said that these companies will be able to tap into Kejora’s digital ecosystem as well as Sunway’s various business divisions ranging from property, healthcare, education, retail, and digital.
It will also introduce an initiative called “Jakarta Express” to help Malaysian startups and investors explore opportunities in the Indonesian market.
Also Read: 25 notable startups in Malaysia that have taken off in 2021
The Malaysian startup ecosystem has recently made headlines with the rise of startups such as Carsome –which had recently secured its status as the first unicorn startup in the country.
It has led to increased optimism in the local startup ecosystem, with several industry players calling for more investments in the country.
According to Statista, private equity (PE) and VC firms invested more than US$5.9 billion in Malaysian startups between 2014 and 2020.
“Malaysia is home to a fast-growing and vibrant startup ecosystem, and there is great potential for Malaysian companies to become Southeast Asia’s next unicorn. With a proven track record in the region and combined cross-border ecosystem, we are confident of replicating our success to empower Malaysian companies to scale rapidly throughout Southeast Asia and beyond,” said Hor.
“Orbit Malaysia is an alliance set up in the spirit of collaboration to leverage on the combined resources not just to help startups, but also as a platform for more private corporations to participate in VC investment. We look forward to working together with more corporates to enrich Malaysia’s funding ecosystem,” he continued.
Based in Jakarta, Kejora Capital has over US$600 million in assets under management (AUM) with 38 portfolio companies, including four unicorn exits.
Alongside Orbit Malaysia’s current active investments, it has previously invested in regional startups in various industries, including fintech lender Kredivo, drone-based solutions provider Aerodyne Group, and delivery startup Sicepat Express.
Also Read: 5 emerging opportunities within Malaysia’s gig economy
As for Sunway Group, it has been involved in the startup ecosystem by running various accelerator programmes, such as the Sunway iLabs Super Accelerator, Sunway Ventures and Sun Sea Capital.
It has also invested in early-stage startups such as Jomrun, Red Dino, Ento, CozyHomes, Quadby, and Wise AI as well as growth-stage startups such as Intrepid and The Lorry.
In addition to these companies, Sunway’s venture building portfolio includes companies such as Sunway XFarms, 42KL coding school, Sunway R&D, PopBox, and Sunway Pharmacy.
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Image Credit: Kejora Capital
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