To promote early-stage growth, Cradle Fund launches $2.53 M elevate and startup accelerator program

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation’s (MOSTI) focal agency for Malaysia’s startup ecosystem development, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd (Cradle), announced on Tuesday the launch of the Cradle Startup Accelerator Program 2026 and Cradle Elevate, a new MYR10 million ($2.53 million) funding program.

Together, these programs make up a concerted national effort to improve the startup pipeline. expand access to support and improve ecosystem connectivity through the MYStartup Single Window platform, in line with the KL20 Action Plan and the Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (SUPER) 2021-2030.

Chang Lih Kang, Minister of MOSTI, said, “Malaysia is building a stronger startup ecosystem with a clear focus on quality, scalability, and real economic impact. Through Cradle LIVE! Roadshow, we are bringing support closer to founders across states, connecting them to the right funding pathways, capabilities, and market opportunities.”

“This ensures Malaysian startup founders are better positioned to build their start, raise financing, grow business, expand overseas, and have meaningful exits in line with our vision of placing Malaysia among the world’s top startup ecosystems by 2030,” he added.

Norman Matthieu Vanhaecke, Group Chief Executive Officer of Cradle added, “Malaysia has a strong funnel of startups with validated solutions and early market traction. The challenge lies in bridging the gap from early growth to scale. Cradle Elevate is designed to address this by strengthening investment readiness and supporting startups to scale with confidence.”

The “missing middle” of startups that have validated their solutions but are not yet prepared for larger private funding rounds is a crucial gap in Malaysia’s early-stage funding landscape, according to the statement. Cradle is filling this gap. Ventures frequently find it difficult to obtain growth capital and seize market opportunities at this point. By lowering the risk of early-stage investments and fostering investor confidence, Cradle’s interventions close this gap and promote increased venture capital (VC) participation.

Through equity investments in Pre-A to Series A startups, Cradle Elevate seeks to close this gap. The program strengthens business fundamentals, improves investor readiness, and speeds up startups toward follow-on funding and expansion with investment sizes ranging from MYR500,000 to MYR2 million alongside partner investors.

In addition to the new funding program, the Cradle Startup Accelerator Program 2026, a structured national strategy to support the ecosystem at every stage of growth, will launch a number of significant initiatives on Tuesday. These include initiatives like Bootcamp, Pre-Accelerator, Accelerator, and Relnnovate, all of which are intended to rigorously validate concepts, fortify foundations, and refine each startup’s route to scale.

As part of this year’s nationwide initiative to engage high-potential and emerging startup ecosystems outside of major hubs, the launch was announced at Cradle LIVE! Roadshow Perak 2026, which features carefully chosen programs to link founders to capital, capabilities, and market opportunities.