Day in the Life of Wong Kah Meng, our Group Chief Operating Officer

What is it like to scale Funding Societies | Modalku regionally across Southeast Asia as the largest SME digital financing platform?

1. How long have you been with Funding Societies?

7 years

2. What is your professional background?

Prior to Funding Societies, I worked in strategy consulting, focusing on the financial services industry across Southeast Asia.

3. What are the 2 most important skills required in your daily work?

It’s a tough choice among having Curiosity, Adaptability, and Grit.

4. What do you like most about your team?

I’m grateful to be able to work with the most driven and talented individuals who always rise to the occasion!

5. 3 words to describe your leadership style

I would say that I lead with empathy, fairness, and a sense of servant leadership.

6. How are you different inside and outside of work?

I’m actually quite similar both at work and outside of work, where I strive to maintain as much structure as I can in my daily schedule & activities. Having said that, things are usually less hectic on the weekends and hence I usually approach them in a more relaxed and carefree manner.

At Work:

Outside Work:

7. What do you look forward to at work the most?

I look forward to working with the brightest yet most humble individuals across the region to enable digital financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

8. How would you describe your time at Funding Societies so far in 3 words?

It’s been a roller-coaster ride, in a good way. Firstly it’s exciting, as we continue to pioneer digital financial services for SMEs across Southeast Asia. It has also been a transformational experience for me as a leader leading a rapidly growing organisation through unprecedented times during the pandemic. Finally, it’s inspiring to see the growth of our team members who have stepped up into bigger roles over the years.

9. What do you love about Funding Societies’ work culture?

Through the years, I find myself energised by the entrepreneurial culture and team spirit here at Funding Societies!

10. What’s your favourite piece of career advice?

My go-to is to be comfortable with uncertainty, because the most impactful endeavours are rarely well defined upfront and do not usually have a finite set of solutions.

11. How would you explain what you do to a 5 year old?

I help simplify and make things happen across the company.

12. 3 emojis to represent what you do at Funding Societies

💡🛠️🚀

13. Describe a typical work day for you, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. 

Everyday is different. But a typical work day for me involves spending a fair amount of my time speaking with many internal stakeholders across the region to help achieve our financial and strategic goals. (e.g. Country teams & Regional teams, including Product, Data, Risk, etc.). Additionally, I travel regularly across the region to meet the teams and help them work through any milestones they are trying to achieve.

14. What is one most important career lesson you would pass down to your team or the next batch of leaders?

Leadership is a privilege and it’s critical for leaders to be deep in the trenches with their team to make the necessary and timely decisions, so as to move the team forward.

Like what you read about our team? If you’re interested in a FinTech career with us, check out our careers page below!

Funding Societies Careers

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