<article>Crewstone International Sdn Bhd is looking to ‘matchmake’ up to 50 innovative technological small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from around Asia with venture capitalists (VCs) in the West and Middle East in April next year.</article>

Crewstone International Sdn Bhd is looking to ‘matchmake’ up to 50 innovative technological small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from around Asia with venture capitalists (VCs) in the West and Middle East in April next year.
The specialised management consulting firm is collating a list of companies around the region, especially from South East Asia (SEA), to bring to meet venture capitalists in the Silicon Valley, Europe as well as Dubai.
The first trip,  to the  Silicon Valley in April, will be preceded by a conference or sessions in which, Crewstone will train the SME founders to pitch and present their ideas and projects to the VCs.
The firm then aims to repeat the process for its Europe and Dubai trips planned in 2015, where new companies may be added to the list.
While Crewstone already has partnerships and access to high net worth investors in the Silicon Valley, it is developing its VC network in Europe and Middle East.
Chairman Jalilah Baba said the sectors which, the firm is looking at are mainly in the green technology, new technologies in the electrical and electronic space as well as innovations in the information and communication technologies (ICT). &#8220;Our criteria follow that of the venture capitalists’ appetite. If it is not a really high-tech business, the VCs may not be that interested,” she told DEALSTREETASIA while talking about Crewstone’s selection process. 
She added that the sectors were reflective of the interest among international VCs at the moment, as state-of-the-art technologies, creativity and originality reigned supreme among their selection barometers.
Crewstone was also targeting sizeable SMEs with at least $ one million in revenue, “but if it is in a niche market, we may consider a smaller company”.
The firm also intends to bring foreign VCs to Malaysia in the future to meet local SMEs. For this, Jalilah said the local ecosystem had still to improve its quality and readiness. Jalilah notes that Crewstone is in collaboration with government agencies in SEA to seek out suitable SME candidates for the trips.
Among the biggest tie-ups Crewstone has in the region are with Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. The firm is also in talks with the High Commission of India to bring on board suitable SMEs from the South Asian country. Other Malaysian government agencies, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and SME Corporation Malaysia are assisting Crewstone in collating the list of companies here. Jalilah will also engage the Malaysian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association to identify more companies.
&#8220;MDeC has found that Malaysia has a shortage of SMEs that are up to mark to whet the foreign VCs&#8217; appetite. But we know there are quality SMEs out there which, may not have approached the government for assistance,&#8221; she said, adding that she would like these companies to identify themselves for the matchmaking initiatives.
Jalilah, formerly the director general and chief executive officer of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), was the chief negotiator in attracting and evaluating various high impact projects as well as foreign direct investments for Malaysia. During her years in government service at MIDA, Jalilah also spearheaded many Malaysian business delegations to various countries under the cross border department.
Crewstone’s strength lies in its connections and experience with government agencies in Malaysia and around Asean region. With that, the firm’s services included assisting companies in site selection in the local landscape, setting up a Malaysian base for regional expansion as well as obtaining government grants, incentives, licences, equity funding and other forms of financing. &#8220;I must have done a good job and been friendly to people so (the agencies and officers) don’t mind assisting me now,” she said of her connections in the industry and with foreign authorities.
Since Kuala Lumpur-based Crewstone’s establishment one and a half years ago, it has assisted foreign and local firms in obtaining “a few millions MYR” worth of government grants. 
Aside from smaller local firms, its clients include multinational companies from the US, Europe, Japan and Korea. Although Crewstone is not at liberty to share the list of clientele, one of its American clients is linked to Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Among the government liaison that Crewstone has assisted its clients with are for the applications of MIDA grants for training as well as research and development, manufacturing licence and customised incentives. It is also familiar with grant applications from MDeC, for special grants for digital technology and content creation as well as green technology special incentives.
On Japanese and Korean interest in Malaysia, Jalilah commented that the interest has been growing for them to come and set up a regional base in the automotive, ICT design products and manufacturing space.

Crewstone brings 50 Asian co's to VCs in US, EU & ME

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