Ficus Capital, a Malaysian venture capital company, on Friday announced a 60 million ringgit ($13.5 million) fund for investments in the country and Southeast Asia. Ficus Capital claims to be the world’s first shariah compliant venture capital firm.
The fund’s anchor investor is Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad (Mavcap).
Founded in 2018, Ficus Capital has made investment of $450,000 in Malaysian EV maker Eclimo and $400,000 in Indonesian augmented reality platform Assemblr.
“Eclimo and Assemblr are testimonials to our principles in investing in companies that are making a future impact, now. 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,” said Abdullah Hidayat, co-managing partner, Ficus Capital.
Rina Neoh, co-managing partner, Ficus Capital added, “As a key enabler to the ecosystem, we are aware of the challenges faced by start-ups as we regularly engage with them. Ficus is not just a financial investor, as we commit our energy to help the start-ups scale their growth and sustain their businesses.”