In August this year, Malaysiakini launched Sokong, a digital platform to help nonprofits and non-governmental organisations raise funds as well as channel donations to those in need.

The platform, developed with a grant from the Google News Initiative, is to connect the social welfare sector with the public to raise funds, to bridge the gap between passionate individuals and impactful causes. That said, the question that comes to mind is why Malaysiakini, an online news portal, has built Sokong and what it says about their ambitions.

We speak with Premesh Chandran, Co-founder of Malaysiakini, and Eshwaren Manoharan, the project manager of Sokong, on how the digital platform is “Empowering Giving (and) Elevating Impact”, what Malaysiakini hopes to achieve with Sokong, and what this says about company’s future ambitions beyond media.