Could you brief our readers about the entrepreneurial ventures of Mr Ahmad Izmir which and the factors that helped to make you the business leader you are  today? 

1.    I started being an entrepreneur at an early age and I've always thought that there is nothing more exciting than trying to figure out what people want and how I can help fulfill that demand. I just wanted to do something with my life to be useful, to be relevant and hopefully make an impact in the world. 

I've tried to sell so many things from property, event tickets, palm oil, advertising and financial advice. Like most young entrepreneurs, I've had my fair share of tough and costly business lessons due to my youthful impatience for success. I think those lessons combined with my excitement of continuous learning definitely helped me to be a better leader and entrepreneur.

Zooming into your involvement with Crewstone International Sdn Bhd, could you  outline the company's objectives? How does your expertise and position as the  CEO help its progress? 

2.    When we first started Crewstone in 2011, our objective was simple. We wanted to help deserving Malaysian businesses secure government grants and incentives to fuel their growth and the local economy. Fast forwarding almost 10 years later, I feel that we are still doing the same thing in some ways but simply adapting the narrative to fit the market conditions. Today Crewstone International aims to be part of growth stage companies towards initial public offering (IPO) by taking stakes (equity) before it goes public. My job and expertise is to find the best and most exclusive deals for our investors and funds that we manage.

Speaking of the private equity activities, in your opinion, what are the main  elements a private equity manager needs to be equipped with in order to  succeed? 

3.    A large number of private equity managers come from the world of finance and rightly so. I think knowing the many ways you can shear a sheep is a key skill and experience you should possess. There are a number of ways you can structure a deal for example based on the type of investor, legal entity, expertise, market conditions and even geographical location. It's a combination of investment banking, entrepreneurship, sales, marketing and law all at the same time. 

In broader terms, how is your business different from and/or similar to 1)  business consultancy firms, 2) wealth management organisations? 

4.    Crewstone in a way is more like a consultancy firm rather than wealth management companies as we do not focus on selling exchange traded funds (ETFs) or investment plans. Our investors value the fact that we focus on strategic investments and offer exclusive deals. Examples of what we have in the pipeline may be an impending IPO, a strategic merger and acquisition deal or consolidations to boost market share. We even design customised funds such as a matching fund where if the investor would put RM 100 million, we will match that investment with a foreign direct investment and co invest in the project.

From an Islamic perspective, what are limitations (if any) to how private equity  investments are dealt with? What alternatives have been introduced? 

5.    We at Crewstone are well aware of this and have some of the best Shariah advisors not only locally but internationally as well. But the structure of private equity I feel are fundamentally in line with the Islamic perspective of Mudarabah, Mussharakah and Wakalah in many typical deal structures. In my opinion regulators would need to step in to establish legal and regulatory framework or the appropriate guidelines to regulate the Islamic PE/VC industry. The government could also support and back the Islamic PE/VC industry in terms of incentives, tax exemptions and such to enable the industry to make its way into the mainstream economy. As of now, Islamic banking is very popular and strong but I'm optimistic the PE / VC industry will follow suite.

What are the main sectors in which Crewstone International invests? What about  the criteria you use to choose certain investments over others? 

6.    Unlike other organizations, we would not put a definite emphasis on the type of companies we invest in or the sectors. From experience we would evaluate every deal based on its unique characteristics to ensure that we do not miss out on an amazing opportunity for our investors. The most important criteria is for the project or investment opportunity to match our investor's objective and long term business strategy.

Besides Malaysia, where does Crewstone operate at the moment. Any plans to  further expand in new regions? what challenges do you expect to face? 

7.    We are currently looking to expand in Singapore and Hong Kong to take advantage of the most active financial markets in the region. Although we do deal with partners in those countries and travel often we believe that we would need a physical presence in those locations soon to expand our network. One of the biggest challenges will be for us to adapt our operations and how we see deals post pandemic as no one really knows what certain industries will look like with the new normal. As of now, markets are still volatile and unpredictable.

While COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of the global economy, what was the  effect on your operations? And what has been your strategy to move forward,  especially knowing you are a solution provider for businesses?

8.    Covid 19 might have affected us if we have had vintage funds or investments like our competitors in industries that took a hit during the pandemic such as real estate, entertainment, energy and tourism. However the fact that we are fairly new and have just started building our portfolio only recently allows us to adapt faster than the rest of our competitors. This gives us the edge and opportunity to offer investors new more relevant and pandemic proof investments and to restructure some of our funds in the making. If you would have invested in a fund that backs transportation or manufacturing you would be in trouble. That is why we are now for example, capitalizing on healthcare, automation and agritech.