Khazanah Nasional Berhad via Dana Impak, is catalyzing efforts to support Malaysian Mid-Tier Companies (MTC) through a dual-track approach of capacity development and mobilizing growth capital via private credit and private equity strategies.
Collectively, these initiatives will directly benefit more than 100 Malaysian MTCs, in line with Dana Impak’s aim to catalyze the growth of high potential MTCs towards becoming more competitive by strengthening capabilities, expanding access to capital and unlocking innovation-led growth as these firms navigate an increasingly competitive and fast evolving economic landscape, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Through Dana Impak, we act as both catalyst and connector – identifying gaps in the ecosystem, deploying patient capital where markets underserve, investing in talent and helping to crowd in private investors, requiring a whole-of-nation approach to foster innovation and fuel long-term growth,” Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, Managing Director of Khazanah.
“Our focus on levelling up Malaysian MTCs represent our Advancing Malaysia strategy to enhance Malaysia’s economic competitiveness and resilience,
“We are pleased to welcome our partners on this journey to unlock the full potential of Malaysian MTCs，” he added.
Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Executive Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia, said MTCs in Malaysia act as a crucial growth engine by enhancing industrial output, creating jobs, fostering innovating and contributing a significant 36 percent to national gross domestic product (GDP).
“Through our 5 Year MSME & MTC Roadmap (2024–2028) the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) plays a central role in supporting MTCs in Malaysia by enhancing their access to funding, market-readiness, and strategic growth opportunities via the capital markets,
“We commend Khazanah’s efforts and support of the SC’s long-term goal to ensure a more inclusive and holistic capital market fundraising ecosystem,” he added.
Khazanah’s Dana Impak strategy is anchored by a suite of capacity-building initiatives aimed at strengthening growth readiness, supporting scale-up efforts, improving investor readiness and boosting productivity.
These include Elevate Program and MTC Growth Innovation Program (MGIP).
Khazanah signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SC on October 17, 2024 to support the SC’s ‘Catalyzing MSME and MTC Access to the Capital Market: 5-Year Roadmap (2024-2028)’ and increase access to capital market funding for Malaysian MTCs.
Under this MoU, Khazanah together with SC will support capacity-building programmes to drive productivity improvements and unlock new opportunities in business, innovation and funding.
One of these is the Elevate Program, a 4-month executive leadership program established by the SC’s affiliate, Capital Markets Malaysia (CMM), which is designed to prepare small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and MTCs for successful capital raising.
As part of Khazanah’s efforts to support MTCs access to the capital markets and strengthen their fundraising capabilities, Khazanah together with CMM will jointly fund MTCs participants in Elevate cohorts until 2027.
MGIP is a structured capacity-building initiative designed to equip MTCs with the skillsets to venture into new markets or expand into new business segments.
The program provides tailored support through curated masterclasses focused on customer-centricity, enterprise innovation, and business expansion plan validation.
The companies are provided with diagnostic support and executive coaching to strengthen their leadership teams, refine their business models, and build innovation-ready capabilities with the goal of shaping their capabilities to spearhead their respective sectors.
“These capacity-building initiatives are complemented by a multi-pronged investment strategy to deploy growth capital via private credit and private equity fund managers, supporting MTCs through different phases of their growth journey,
“Khazanah recognises MTCs’ need for flexible and tailored funding solutions as an alternative to traditional equity funding,” added Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir.
Khazanah’s private credit strategy under Dana Impak aims to accelerate the growth of Malaysian MTCs with non-dilutive financing solutions.
In line with this effort, Khazanah said it is pleased to announce its partnerships with Navis Capital Partners, an ASEAN-focused private investment firm based in Kuala Lumpur, and Granite Asia, an Asian multi-asset investment firm, offering tailored credit strategies to support the growth and expansion of Malaysian MTCs.
Under the private equity (PE) strategy, Khazanah also aims to support Malaysian MTCs by leveraging experienced fund managers to help MTCs scale up their business, expand into regional markets and strengthen operations.
To enable this, Khazanah has also announced its partnership with Creador, a homegrown Malaysian PE firm with regional presence across South and Southeast Asia with an established track record of supporting growth-stage companies to accelerate regional expansion and drive growth within MTCs though its value creation capabilities.
It is noted that MTCs are a vital engine of national economic growth, contributing around 36 percent of Malaysia’s GDP and employing 16 percent of the national workforce.
However, unlocking their full potential requires overcoming key challenges, particularly in accessing right-sized growth-stage funding and scaling up effectively, said Khazanah.
Thus, these strategic partnerships and initiatives are aligned with the broader Ekonomi MADANI framework and form part of Khazanah’s MYR 1 billion ($240 million) commitment to level up Malaysian MTCs under the Ministry of Finance’s GEAR-uP initiative, as announced in Belanjawan 2025.