World’s first shariah-compliant VC, Ficus Capital announces US$13.6mil flagship fund

• Mavcap anchor investor, first investment outside MY is Indonesian-based Assemblr
• Malaysian electric motorcycle manufacturer Eclimo received US$450k investment

Malaysian-based venture capital firm, Ficus Capital, today announced Ficus SEA, its flagship US$13.6 million (RM60 million) fund.

With it, the world’s first shariah-compliant venture capitalist is looking for startups that are bringing impact to the environment, society, and governance (ESG) sustainably. 

Ficus SEA was first announced on 22 November 2021 with Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap) as it's anchor investor.

“We are committed to supporting the growth of companies that are beneficial to society and sustainable economically. Being a shariah compliant venture capital, we believe ESG and sustainability are deeply rooted in Islamic economics and investment ethics within the parameters of people, planet, profit and principle. All our investment portfolios will be based on that,” said Ficus Capital co-managing partner, Abdullah Hidayat.

At the same time, Ficus Capital announced that it has invested US$400,000 (RM1.8 million) in Assemblr, an Indonesian web-based augmented reality content creation platform through Ficus SEA. This marks the firm’s first investment outside of Malaysia. 

Assemblr was founded in 2018 by Hasbi Asyadiq, Anita Yustisia, and Risnandar and is based in Bandung. It aims to make AR accessible to everyone on a single cloud platform and has customers from all over the world with 2 million projects started (not necessarily completed) on its platform.

It is an alumnus of various international accelerators including Techstars Hub 71, Facebook Accelerator and Plug And Play. Assemblr has also been featured as Apple App Store’s App of the Day in more than 100 countries.

“As a key enabler to the ecosystem, we are aware of the challenges faced by startups as we regularly engage with them. Ficus is not just a financial investor, as we commit our energy to help startups scale their growth and sustain their businesses. Our network and experiences are their value-adding resources to help them bridge the gaps in their strategic planning, market expansion and increasing their valuation,” said Ficus Capital co-managing partner, Rina Neoh

Meanwhile, Ficus Capital, through Ficus SEA, has also invested US$450,000 ( RM2 million) in Eclimo, a Malaysian-designed and owned electric vehicle company.

Founded in 2008, Eclimo began initially focused on green technology research and development. It then shifted to manufacturing electric motorcycles (ES11 and EB25), its lithium-Ion battery packs (Eclimo Power), and modules. It is now based in Penang. 

Ficus Capital was founded in 2018 by a group of professionals and entrepreneurs who have accumulated years of experience in banking.