KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia attracted 78,138 highly skilled foreign technology talents under the Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (Super) 2021–2030 as of Sept 30, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Mohammad Yusof Apdal said the figure followed efforts under the roadmap to expedite visa approvals and facilitate the entry of foreign talent.
"Through this intervention, 78,138 highly skilled foreign technology talents have been attracted to Malaysia as of Sept 30.
"This strengthens the pool of talent and technological expertise to support the growth and competitiveness of the country's startup ecosystem," he said in reply to a question from Kesavan Subramaniam (PH-Sungai Siput).
Yusof said efforts under Super had also contributed to more than RM51.17 billion in startup investments as of the same date, providing capital to support companies' growth and expansion.
He said 5,016 local and foreign startups had registered on the MYStartup single-window platform, including those from Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
"These efforts are important to enable more local startups to grow, attract high-quality investments, create highly skilled jobs and bring Malaysian technology products and solutions to regional and global markets," he said.
He said the Securities Commission Malaysia's Venture Capital Golden Pass initiative under the KL20 Action Plan also facilitated and expedited registration approvals for venture capital firms, encouraging global and regional firms to invest in Malaysia.
On efforts to expand opportunities beyond the Klang Valley, he said Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd (Cradle), an agency under the ministry, held a roadshow in Perak on April 28, launching the RM10 million Cradle Elevate financing programme and the Cradle Startup Accelerator Programme 2026.
He said that 66 Perak startups had registered on MYStartup, while eight had received Cradle funding during the 12th Malaysia Plan.
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