FWD Group has joined forces with Malaysia-based venture capital firm Artem Ventures to launch a RM45 million venture capital fund with the aim of investing in emerging start-ups in the local insurtech and Islamic fintech arena.
According to FWD’s Managing Director and Group Chief Operating Officer Sim Preston, the pan-Asian life insurance firm hopes to support early-stage entrepreneurs in Malaysia not only through financing, but also helping them to connect with the networks and expertise they need to succeed.
“We hope to invest in businesses that share our vision as we work together on changing the way people feel about takaful,” he added.
Up to this point, the fund has already invested in four startups including winners from its 2021 pre-accelerator programme launched to support insurtech and takafultech startups in Malaysia, FWD Start-Up Studio.
The startups consist of Islamic inheritance planning digital solutions platform Pewarisan, Senang, an on-demand subscription-based insurance company, zero-deposit insurance agency Blueduck and fintech Du-It.
Additionally, Ts. Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, gave his two-cents on the fund, saying: “We welcome the establishment of this venture capital fund to support the growth of Malaysia’s SMEs operating in these sectors.”
“We will strive to ensure further effective collaborations are formed, to support this growing technology ecosystem in line with our new national strategic initiative, Malaysia Digital. We are particularly focused on the innovative Islamic fintech segment, where Malaysia has been a global leader for eight consecutive years.”