Mavcap teams up with leading VC firms

• Collaborates with Gobi Partners and Elixir Capital
• MOUs to establish new funds targeting up to US$450 million

MALAYSIA Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap) on Dec 8, marked a milestone, signing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with leading venture capital (VC) firms Gobi Partners and Elixir Capital. 

The ceremony was witnessed by Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, Secretary General of Treasury, Ministry of Finance.

This latest collaboration between Mavcap and Gobi Partners, a VC firm from China, will see the establishment of the Asean Growth Fund targeting up to US$200 million, focusing on growth and later stage financing for innovation and technology-related growth stage companies in Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region.

Meanwhile, Mavcap and Elixir Capital, a Silicon Valley-based fund manager, will be setting up and operating the Global Islamic Economy Fund targeting up to US$250 million, which will nurture and support the Islamic innovative funding ecosystem. This will be done in partnership with Affinis Labs from Washington DC, USA.

Mavcap chief executive officer Jamaludin Bujang (pic, above) said, “We are glad to further solidify our fruitful partnerships with Gobi and Elixir, both of which are leading VC firms regionally and globally. We believe these two new funds will enable us to leverage on untapped opportunities to accelerate the development of the VC industry, both in Asean and in Islamic markets.

“This will also create greater prospects for promising Malaysian start-ups, as funds such as these will help foster innovation and ultimately contribute towards cultivating a vibrant and dynamic VC ecosystem in Malaysia, and further elevate Malaysia’s position in the regional funding ecosystem.”

Gobi Partners managing partner Thomas Tsao (pic, above) added, “We are excited to partner with Mavcap once again on the Asean Growth Fund, as its now a very exciting time to be doing business in the region.

“We have been impressed by the quality of Southeast Asian entrepreneurs and we believe that the current challenges faced by Asean right now will not be solved by Silicon Valley start-ups, rather, they will be solved by home-grown entrepreneurs and start-ups.”

Elixir Capital managing director Amir Azahar commented, “We are pleased to collaborate with Mavcap to build a solid foundation for the Global Islamic Economy Fund ecosystem. With a population of over 1.7 billion Muslims across the globe coupled with increasing connectivity and technology readiness, there is indeed strong potential in this industry which we can capitalise on, particularly in the emerging Digital Islamic Economy which is growing at a rapid rate.”

Mavcap has previously collaborated with Gobi Partners and Elixir Capital on other VC funds. During the event, new investee companies were also announced in these existing fund partnerships.

The Gobi Mavcap III Fund, which focuses on early stage IT and digital media companies in Malaysia, South East Asia and China, has invested in a total of 13 companies to date.

Another fund partnership, the RM60 million Gobi Mavcap Asean SuperSeed Fund, centred on Asean-based Internet and mobile technology start-ups, has invested in ten companies to date, the latest being Carsome, Favful, IsItUp and SupplyBunny, and Glints. The SuperSeed Fund has an average deal size of RM2 million.

Meanwhile, the US$50 million ECM Straits Fund, a partnership between Elixir Capital and Mavcap targeting technology companies in USA and the region, has invested in 12 companies to date, including Fashion Valet and The Lorry.

Additionally, the RM70 million Axiata Digital Innovation Fund (ADIF), a collaboration between Axiata Group Bhd and Mavcap which is focused on technology companies in the digital services space, invested in four new companies: Pixelated Sdn Bhd, KFit Asia Sdn Bhd, Softinn Solutions Sdn Bhd and VAV Apps Sdn Bhd. To date, ADIF has a total of 10 investee companies, with over RM22.9 million in funds deployed.
 
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