KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Penjana Kapital Sdn Bhd has attracted eight venture capital (VC) fund managers to invest in Malaysian start-ups as part of the RM1.2 billion Dana Penjana Nasional programme. 

At the letter of award ceremony held here today, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said that the Dana Penjana Nasional programme is a matching fund-of-funds programme. 

The government will match up to RM600 million on a 1:1 basis with the VC funds, with an initial target of RM1.2 billion. 

“Today, it is my pleasure to welcome the eight VC fund managers that have helped Penjana Kapital exceed its target, with an indicative fund size of RM1.57 billion combined under the programme or RM370 million more than the initial projected allocation,” the minister said. 

In other words, the VCs themselves have committed to the additional RM370 million, while the government's commitment is still capped at RM600 million. 

He added that these eight VCs and their local partners were carefully selected among 51 applicants, including those from the US, China, South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore. Tengku Zafrul further explained that a rigorous selection process was used to select these VCs to ensure compatibility with domestic players. 

Tengku Zafrul further highlighted that Dana Penjana Nasional had a focus on sectors such as agri-tech, edu-tech, mobility and artificial intelligence (AI). The firms selected under this initiative would be high-growth firms. 

“I welcome these foreign VC fund managers to our shores. Their encouraging participation, through local VC partners, indicates strong interest in flesh prospects for the Malaysian economy and its start-up industry. 

"I have every confidence that the deployment of these funds will spur our start-up ecosystem, and encourage these start-ups to innovate and grow quickly. 

I wish Penjana Kapital all the success in developing the domestic start-up space, which is also expected to create at least 1,800 quality, high-skilled jobs,” he remarked. 

The VCs are spread across different funding stages, namely the seed, seed A & B, growth and venture debt stages.

Penjana Kapital was incorporated by the government on July 1.