Mekari, an Indonesian software-as-a-service platform, has secured $50 million in a series E investment round headed by Money Forward and including several other current investors.
Money Forward led the company’s US$18 million series D financing, which was also headed by Money Forward, little over a year ago. EV Growth and MidPlaza Holding were also present.
Suwandi Soh, Mekari’s founder and CEO, said the new funds would be used to grow the company’s staff and skills in product and engineering, sales, and marketing. It will also help the company expand into a new area, which he calls “contextual financial services.”
The new financial services business verticals will act as an extra layer of products on top of Mekari’s existing SaaS solutions, which include HR, accounting, tax, customer relationship management, and employee benefits.
Suwandi claims, for example, that the firm will be able to use data from its Talenta payroll platform to provide employees with earned-wage access as well as employee loans.
Suwandi believes Mekari is on the right track to profitability. He expects the firm to break even in the next two to four years, depending on how aggressively the company wants to spend on its future expansion.
Sleekr was founded in 2015 and renamed Mekari after a series of M&A deals with four SaaS competitors, including HR firm Talenta, tax platform KlikPajak, and accounting startup Jurnal.
Suwandi says he’ll be “open” to executing more inorganic strategies if Mekari expands into other verticals, and he may even extend the current investment round to fund such transactions if the chance arises.
