How the death of Cradle’s Nazrin Hassan shook up the Malaysian start-up scene

CEO of state grants administrator Cradle Fund died aged 48 in an alleged murder that remains shrouded in mystery

The financier played a major role in building the country’s small yet burgeoning tech scene, and his absence has been deeply felt

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Nazrin Hassan was a fan of Arsenal football club. Photo: Facebook

Published: 10:30am, 5 Oct 2019Updated: 10:13am, 8 Oct 2019

When Raja Hamzah Abidin heard about the death of Nazrin Hassan, group CEO of Malaysian start-up influencer Cradle Fund, he was shocked. As one of his earliest supporters and a champion of the start-up industry, Nazrin was “a pioneer” who was always ready to forge connections, give advice or just provide a listening ear, said Hamzah, who manages a private venture capital fund in Kuala Lumpur.

“He was extremely helpful when I first started with introductions and connections to the ecosystem. He was genuine in his desire to grow the ecosystem in Malaysia, and Cradle played a leading part in that through its programmes.”

Cradle, incorporated under Malaysia’s finance ministry, hands out government grants to early-stage tech start-ups with high growth potential. Founded in 2003, it has expanded into equity investments and providing support and coaching to the entrepreneurs of the country’s burgeoning tech scene.

Nazrin Hassan and his wife Photo: Facebook

Nazrin died last June aged 48. His widow and two of his teenaged stepchildren are now on trial for his murder in a case that remains shrouded in mystery.

He had served as Cradle’s group CEO since 2007 after joining as head of structuring in 2003. A law graduate who began his career in corporate finance before venturing into tech, he was known to be intelligent, enthusiastic and charming, passionate about Malaysian entrepreneurship, start-ups, and Arsenal football club. His tenure at Cradle saw his team giving grants to successful start-ups such as the first iteration of ride-hailing giant Grab, the region’s first “decacorn” – a company valued at more than US$10 billion. To date, Cradle has helped fund over 900 Malaysian start-ups, including Ipay88 and iMoney.