Kalaivani Chittaranjan, a.k.a. Vani, is the founder and CEO of Mintbook, an educational
technology platform for institutions and corporates. Kalaivani has over 25 years of leadership experience in technology (PKI, mobile wallets, blockchain, semantics) and the oil industry. She was associated with EdTech for the last eight years; before which, she was MD & CEO of eMudhra Limited and involved with Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) & Digital Signature business and Fintech consumer solutions.
Kalaivani holds several professional qualifications including Chartered Accountancy, Cost Accountancy, Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA, USA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA, USA). She is an
alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore) and was also part of international business expeditions.
That said, Kalaivani’s hard work doesn’t fall short. She was recognized as ‘Women Entrepreneur’ (2016) by eMERG, awarded ‘Startup of the Year’ (2018) by MEITY (GOI), noted as ‘Women in Technology’ by Indo-US Science and Technology Forum and presented in TiE, Silicon Valley, USA.
What do you offer your customers? Kindly elaborate
Established in 2013 in Bangalore, Mintbook has ventured to India, the USA, Canada and Kenya. It provides a Unified Learning Platform to educational institutions and corporates to ensure they manage their e-learning holistically, such as courses, digital library, and training. Within the last nine years, the Mintbook brand has earned a name in digital learning. With over 250+ educational institutions, 40+ enterprise clients, 1500+ Community Libraries and 30 million+ end users, this thriving platform is secured, stable and scalable for SaaS delivery models.
Mintbook enables millennials to learn in an engaged, gamified, self-regulated, exploratory,
and interactive manner (medium) by providing access to curriculum-mapped, personalized
learning outcomes driven by digital content (media) in an integrated learning platform. Having over 100+ partnerships with reputed publishers’ digital rights, Mintbook Digital Library holds one aamil+ collection in 10 regional languages (including English & Hindi), curated for each segment and targeted learners. The Unified Learning Platform allows the creation of courses and managing the training schedules to ensure the organization has a holistic knowledge and training management system in place.
Furthermore, Mintbook carries out largescale projects for the Government of Karnataka and Gujarat, the National Aids Control Organization (NACO), the Geological Survey of
India (GSI), Canara Bank, the State Department of Public Libraries and multiple cities in
India and educational institutions. The brand is recommended for all technical universities.
Also, it is empanelled in NEAT (National Education Alliance for Technology) by AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), the governing body for Engineering Universities in India.
Kalaivani holds a patent in iOT technology-based Digital Learning Device for a private network to learn or for under-connected regions (MBOX). It is the solution for digital transformation in education in remote and tribal areas, such as rural schools, garment factories and grama panchayat libraries. Additionally, Mintbook has received multiple awards, including Smart Villages, Startup India, Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (USSTF), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Government of India, among many others.
What is the future plan of your business?
Mintbook 2.0 aims at moving into edutainment and immersive learning experiences in the
metaverse platform. Considering the need for experience, engagement and self-efficacy
of learners, the proposed platform uses a technology framework that allows continuous interaction. What’s more? Mintbook is planning to expand its operations in North America and
Africa regions.
According to you, what is the advancement in this industry in terms of technology? Do you think adoption of such advanced technologies has brought you to an elite position?
Innovation and technology advancement is a continuous phenomenon of human evolution.
We are at the cusp of a high level of human- machine convergence, and knowledge and learning is critical to harness and grow one’s skills. Hence, any technology advancement that can elevate the human capital will drive an exponential growth for society and country. For India, digital inclusivity in education and learning is key for the next decade’s growth potential. Needless to say, Mintbook had invested in digital inclusivity innovation for rural and BTL population; it is the result of investment in various collaboration with state governments, rotary international, clothing brands and NGOs. We are able to provide digital learning opportunity to millions of
children, women and youth in villages, garment factories, government schools, tribal areas and
more. I strongly believe in that saying, ‘what is technology if it cannot provide the knowledge
of human race to the common man in a remote village in India’; this is a grass root innovation
in inclusive education.
Furthermore, the team’s experience in getting the pulse of the learners and continuously adapting the product to accommodate the needs has paved the way for metaverse in e-learning
for Mintbook. It will be a game changer in the history of e-learning for institutions and players
in the education industry, putting Mintbook on the map of EdTech innovation.
Why is there less contribution of women entrepreneurship in India? What’s your view point?
Women are designed to protect their families with stability and prosperity; This holds her
down, preventing her from taking risks and plunging into entrepreneurship. Startups and
entrepreneurship are building the future fabric of our society with innovative technologies and
impacts. It is crucial for women to contribute to building this fabric for all of us. Recently, many
initiatives have been taken by the government, consortiums and venture capital to boost
women’s entrepreneurship in India and globally. I find that more women-led startups emerging
as unicorns and role models for other girls will change the ratio and fuel the aspirations of many women.
