
KUALA LUMPUR: When Rafiza Ghazali received a call confirming her appointment as Cradle Fund CEO in April, she knew she had a herculean task ahead of her because of the coronavirus crisis.
But she also knew Malaysia needed to spice up its digital economy for she had noted that it had been accelerated “like never before” since the movement control order (MCO) came into force.
She noted too that many industries were trying hard to adjust to new norms of doing business.
Cradle was established under the finance ministry in 2003 with the mandate to influence the early-stage startup of tech companies.
Rafiza, who officially clocked in at her office on June 1, decided that Cradle should now focus on innovative technology startups and encourage them to provide solutions to contemporary business challenges.
She told FMT she believed companies would have to look at areas that were delaying delivery of services and causing failures in cutting costs and attracting customers.
She said retailers and service providers needed to add excitement at their physical and online shops by introducing virtual reality experiences.
For example, she said, a tailor should be able to take the measurements of a client from a picture shot at his store or uploaded to his website.