Jelawang open applications for Emerging Fund Managers’ Programme with lower minimum fund size

• Collectively deployed over US$14.77mil in over 10 early-stage startups, with majority being Malaysian 
• Offers greater flexibility during the application phase in relation to early fundraising progress 

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, and its subsidiary, Jelawang Capital Sdn Bhd have announced the opening of applications for the Emerging Fund Managers’ Programme (EMP) second cohort. This widening of the pool of venture investors who will bet on Malaysian and Malaysian-based founders, reflects Khazanah’s continued commitment, through Dana Impak, to catalyse Malaysia’s venture capital (VC) and startup ecosystem in fostering innovation and supporting economic growth.

Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir (pic), Khazanah Managing Director said, “We are pleased to invite applications for the EMP second cohort 2026, now enhanced with all-year round submissions. Since the selection of the first three EMP fund managers (Vynn Capital, Kairous Capital and First Move) in June 2025, we are encouraged by the early progress, including attracting more than US$7.38 million (RM30 million) from other capital providers beyond Jelawang’s commitments and collectively deploying over US$14.77 million (RM60 million) across more than ten early-stage companies, the majority of which are Malaysian startups. This reflects EMP’s contribution to supporting the development of emerging fund managers and the domestic venture capital ecosystem.”

Feisal noted that strengthening Malaysia’s VC ecosystem remained a key component under Khazanah’s Advancing Malaysia strategy for 2026. “Through Dana Impak, we remain committed to building a deeper and more vibrant venture capital ecosystem.”

As Malaysia’s national fund-of-funds, Jelawang Capital channels its investments through VC fund managers under the EMP and Regional Fund Manager’s Initiative (RMI) which employ a programmatic approach to nurture and strengthen the VC ecosystem. The EMP is designed to support the next generation of Malaysian fund managers through crowding in capital and institutionalising fund managers.

The upcoming EMP cohort introduces several refinements including a rolling Request for Proposals and a streamlined submission process that enable year-round applications, a lowered minimum fund size for pre-seed and seed strategies, and greater flexibility during the application phase in relation to early fundraising progress.

This is a big change from the application conditions in the first EMP round which stipulated that the minimum amount VCs are expected to raise is RM60 million, with applicants required to raise at least 20% of the amount as a base condition to be eligible. It is not known whether any of the three selected EMPs met this condition.

The EMP and RMI initiatives under Dana Impak and Jelawang Capital support the broader Ekonomi MADANI framework and form part of Khazanah’s RM1 billion commitment to the Government’s GEAR-uP initiative to spur Malaysia’s VC ecosystem, nurture high growth entrepreneurs and crowd-in capital in early-stage fundraising.