Featured Panelist: Oscar Moralez, Founder & Managing Partner, Boomerang Ventures
Source: Digital News Asia
- Mission reflects broader efforts to position Malaysian startups more competitively on the global stage
- Participating startups showcased innovations across healthtech, AI, sustainability and enterprise solutions
Cradle Fund is intensifying efforts to help Malaysian startups expand into Japan through a structured market access programme focused on securing partnerships, investments and long-term commercial opportunities.
The initiative was anchored around SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, one of Asia’s leading innovation and sustainability-focused technology events, reflecting Malaysia’s broader push to position local startups more competitively on the global stage.
As Malaysia’s focal agency for early-stage startups, Cradle participated in the mission in partnership with Artem Ventures under the Japan Post-Accelerator: Market Access Program, a flagship component of Cradle’s Global Market Access (GMA) initiative.
The programme is designed to help Malaysian startups secure tangible commercial outcomes in international markets, including partnerships, pilot projects and investments, rather than focusing solely on visibility and networking exposure.
Cradle said the programme places strong emphasis on preparation and execution, with nearly 80% of the groundwork completed before participating startups arrive in Japan. This includes startup selection, market readiness assessments, pitch refinement, market entry strategy development and early matching with Japanese corporates and investors.
The Tokyo immersion phase, centred around SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, included curated pitching sessions, thematic networking engagements and focused one-on-one meetings with investors and potential partners.
Participating startups will also receive six months of structured post-programme support through October 2026, with Cradle and its partners continuing to facilitate business discussions and drive commercial outcomes.
The mission also included investor engagement through Cradle’s participation on the Investor Stage via a global healthcare investment panel discussing investment trends, innovation priorities and cross-border opportunities in healthcare. The panel featured Nurshaffira Izzad (Cradle), Oscar Moralez (Boomerang Ventures), Yumiko Oka (HiJoJo Partners), Deborah Magid (NextStar Venture Partners) and Ryoko Manabe (Alchemist Japan), representing perspectives from Southeast Asia, Japan and the United States.
Malaysian startups participating in the programme showcased innovations across healthtech, AI, enterprise solutions, sustainability and education. The ten shortlisted startups included:
- Sono Holding – Healthtech and femtech platform providing maternal and childcare solutions
- PEEK – Medtech company focused on screening and early detection solutions
- PlusVibes – Corporate wellness platform offering employee assistance programmes (EAP)
- CourtIQ – AI-powered sports analytics platform for court-based sports
- CitySage – Urban AI platform helping cities optimise planning and infrastructure decisions
- Service4U – AI-driven CPaaS and telco solutions enabling enterprise communication automation
- Midwest Composites – Advanced materials startup producing sustainable green composite solutions for industrial use
- Eartheories – Beauty and wellness brand offering natural and sustainable products
- Nihongo Asia Academy – Education platform focused on Japanese language training and talent placement
- Remote Work Malaysia – Proptech and coworking community supporting remote workers and distributed teams
Some participating startups also secured early partnership milestones during the mission.
CitySage signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with Eight Knot during the MDEC/SIDEC Malaysia Networking Event at SusHi Tech Tokyo on 28 April 2026. Supported by Mitsubishi Corporation, the collaboration will explore opportunities in smart water mobility solutions and potential market expansion into Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Nihongo Asia Academy announced a strategic partnership with Jobs and LabBase Japan through the signing of a Letter of Intent on 27 April 2026.
Cradle said the pitching sessions provided startups with direct exposure to Japanese venture capital firms and corporates, creating pathways for partnerships, pilot projects and potential investments.
Beyond startup pitching, Cradle also engaged with organisations including JETRO and CIC Tokyo, as well as corporates such as KDDI, NTT, Tokyo Gas, Rohto Pharmaceutical, Takenaka, Mitsubishi Estate, Calbee, Mori Building and Honda Xcelerator Ventures.
According to Cradle, these engagements are important in helping Malaysian startups navigate Japan’s relationship-driven business environment while building long-term market access opportunities.
The delegation also visited Leave a Nest, a leading deep-tech ecosystem builder in Japan, where startups explored opportunities for market entry support, research partnerships and pilot collaborations.
Cradle is also working with ecosystem partners in Japan to strengthen soft-landing support for Malaysian startups through local network access, workspace support and business-matching opportunities.
The agency said the Japan Post-Accelerator: Market Access Programme reflects a broader shift towards execution-driven internationalisation, where success is measured through partnerships, pilot projects and investments rather than visibility alone.
Source: Digital News Asia, May 14, 2026
