KUALA LUMPUR: Gobi Partners, a global venture capital firm with US$1.5 billion in assets under management, has onboarded its first portfolio Care Concierge under its newly-established Gobi Dana Impak Ventures (GDIV) fund.
GDIV is a part of the Future Malaysia Programme, an initiative announced on March 16 this year under Khazanah Nasional Bhd's Dana Impak mandate to support the local start-up ecosystem of entrepreneurs, start-ups, venture capital, and corporate venture programmes.
Dana Impak is a US$1.3 billion (RM6 billion) allocation over five years and a key pillar under Khazanah's Advancing Malaysia strategy.
It seeks to invest across six themes based on issues and challenges facing the nation that include digital society and technology, quality health and education for all, decent work and social mobility, food and energy security, building climate resilience and competing in global markets.
Gobi said the investment in Care Concierge fits the fundamental objective of Dana Impak, which is to invest in catalytic sectors to increase Malaysia's economic competitiveness and build national resilience.
"Care Concierge helps families navigate the complexities of finding the right senior care solution for their loved ones across its various services of home care, residence care, day care and shop care," it added.
Founded by chief executive officer Martin Yap and chief operations officer Justin Yap in 2017, Care Concierge's inception was inspired by Martin's family's struggle in finding assistance for the care of his grandmother who succumbed to a stroke.
This led to the realisation of what Malaysia needs especially with its ageing population on the rise, and the younger generation that is career-centric.
Driven by technology, design thinking, and innovation, Care Concierge is also one of six winners of the Khazanah Impact and Innovation Challenge 2021 with the prize being a grant worth US$66,000 (RM300,000).
Gobi co-founder and chairperson Thomas Tsao said it had a strong belief in Malaysia's entrepreneurial potential and world-class talent.
"As a firm headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, our early investments in more than 30 Malaysian startups have yielded success. We have thoroughly evaluated Care Concierge and are confident in their growth prospects for the Silver Economy."
Martin said the funding from Gobi, under the auspices of Khazanah, was timely as it augured well with the ageing population challenges that the country was facing.
"We are committed to using this funding to create innovative and digital solutions that will revolutionise senior living care, including the Caregivers profession and make an impact in the lives of our ageing population."
According to a report by the United Nations, Malaysia is expected to become an ageing society by 2030, with more than 15 per cent of the population aged 60 years and above.
One of the key challenges associated with ageing is the provision of healthcare services to the elderly as they are more susceptible to chronic diseases and disabilities, which require specialised medical care.