Mohamad Johan Nasir

Cradle Fund Sdn. Bhd. (Cradle), a focal point agency for Malaysia’s early-stage startups, incorporated under the Ministry of Finance Malaysia (MOF) in 2003 with a mandate to fund potential and high-caliber tech startups through its Cradle Investment Programme (CIP). Cradle is presently administered by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI).

Throughout its history, Cradle has helped fund over 1000 Malaysian tech startups and holds the highest commercialization rate amongst government grants in the country. Having more than a decade of experience in the nation’s grant funding scene, Cradle further expanded its role from grant provider to investor through the establishment of its venture arm, Cradle Seed Ventures in 2015 and following its portfolio expansion to equity investment in early 2017, Cradle offered both funding and investment assistance.

Currently, two new grants are made available to the startup ecosystem namely CIP SPARK and CIP SPRINT. Allocated under the 12-MP, CIP SPARK is a funding programme targeting technology startups for the development of ideas and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as well as other pre-commercialization activities CIP SPRINT is for the commercialization of innovative technology products and services, aimed at assisting technology startups at an early stage to develop and commercialize their products in the market.

Following the announcement of the Malaysian Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (SUPER) in 2021, Cradle has been appointed as the focal point agency for Malaysia’s startup ecosystem and mandated to ensure the successful running of a holistic ecosystem to enable and encourage growth among startups. Cradle also spearheads the MYStartup initiative – one of the interventions identified under five Ecosystem Drivers in SUPER – where it contributes directly to efforts in increasing the number of innovative and quality startups.

Cradle also administers the Angel Tax Incentive (ATIO), designed for angel investors to be accorded a tax deduction of up to RM500,000 to stimulate and encourage angel investments from private sector into technology-based startup companies in Malaysia.

Cradle’s product offerings are not only restricted to monetary aid but also include commercialization support, coaching, and various value-added services to cater today’s entrepreneurs’ diversified needs.