For SMEs and other companies looking for ways to digitalise their business, Suwandi Soh heard your prayers. In 2015 he started work on Mekari, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that offers a sleek suite of products to cover human resources, accounting and tax processing. Recently, Soh introduced Mekari Chat, a communications platform integrated with its HR and employee benefits solution called Mekari Flex.

The start-up was launched in 2019 after the merger of four other SaaS start-ups. To date, 15,000 businesses have used Mekari, a figure which Soh intends to increase; the latest fund-raising round initiated by Soh raised an impressive US$18 million. According to him, the funds will be used to grow his engineering team so he can develop more Mekari products.

Mekari’s CEO isn’t just focused on his company’s growth. He also partners with schools and government agencies to teach and certify HR and accounting professionals for free. During the pandemic, Soh also spearheaded the crowd-funding for rapid-testing kits to support Indonesia’s fight against Covid-19.