Kalaivani Chittaranjan, Founder & CEO, Mintbook
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 large-scale 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 privatenetwork 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, IndoUS Science & Technology Forum (USSTF),Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Government of India, among many others.
Future plan of Mintbook
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.
Adoption of such advanced technologies has brought Kalaivani 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 collaborations with state governments, rotary international, clothing brands and NGOs. We are able to provide digital learning opportunities 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.
Persistence and sustenance is the key! You have a dream, and only you can make it happen, so never quit the chase. Believe that the competition is with yourself, and you don’t have to compare with others. Nothing is
easy, and only challenges bring success and agility in oneself. Challenges are not failures. Most women wear multiple hats and own the responsibility of motherhood and family at the peak of their careers. However, she cannot do it all by herself and needs the support of family and friends. Therefore, she should work out a
functioning system with her family members, sharing her responsibilities so that she can chase her dreams.
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.
