In December 2016, Cradle Fund revamped their conditional grant and seed type funding to better suit startup ecosystem in Malaysia

Malaysia government agency Cradle Fund today launched its new investment product, called the Cradle Investment Programme 300 (CIP300) in Kuala Lumpur.

The launch follows the agency’s recent shift from grants to equity funding with the launch of its Direct Equity 800 (DEQ800) investment product in February.

Cradle Fund had also revamped of its conditional grants product CIP Catalyst and seed-type fund CIP500 in December 2016.

The agency aims to wean startups off grants with the goal by introducing outside investors earlier. This is believed to ensure local startups “have the discipline, professionalism, and focus required to propel them to the next level.”

“Today’s local startups could become tomorrow’s global success stories. We want to help startups to grow in Malaysia and go global. By helping them navigate from the very start, right from idea stage all the way to Series A,” said Cradle Group CEO Nazrin Hassan.

“We now offer two products, DEQ800 and CIP300 which brings together a range of funding and value added benefits to create a more coherent framework to allow startups to grow and do business locally and regionally. This gives our local startups the opportunity in starting and scaling up a company with the help from the Government and private sector,” he added.

The agency had also signed an MOU with The Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN) and K-One Technology Bhd (KiasuLab), as well as a separate agreement with Sunway University Sdn Bhd (Sunway Innovation Lab).

These institutions will play a “key role” in “the provision of value added support to CIP300 recipients.”

Also Read: VMO raises funding from Cradle Fund, equity crowdfunding to further expand business

The CIP300 is a pre-seed programme which provides financial and value added assistance up to RM300,000 (US$69,000).

In their press statement, Cradle stated that the key features of the investment product is the range of value-added support that each recipient will benefit from.

It includes enhanced coaching and mentoring programme throughout funding period; opportunity to be matched with potential investors; match-making with Cradle’s partners; internal training programme to support creation, innovation and commercialisation; participation in business and networking events under Cradle; as well as media and public relations support.

CIP 300 targets ICT, Non-ICT, and other tech-based fields such as semi-conductors, life sciences, and clean tech.

To be eligible for the product, applicants should be an individual or locally incorporated companies operating less than three years.

Cradle also stated that for each grant award, it expects at least 60 per cent to be allocated for commercialisation costs while 40 per cent will be for product development and other non-commercialisation costs.

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Image Credit: Cradle Fund

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