Digital interventions in learning is gearing up at fast pace like never before. The biggest challenge in the e-Learning is availability of quality and relevant digital content for teaching community and students. A huge repository of eBooks, instructional videos and journals that can be made affordable and accessible by all. Synergizing technology and learning resources for inclusive education is the vision with which KalaivaniChittaranjan conceptualized mintbook – a a disruptive digital content rendering platform that holds a huge repository of content for learners in Schools, Universities, Colleges, Libraries and students.

KalaivaniChittaranjan, the Founder & CEO of Mintbook has been engaged in building digital library & learning platforms for educational institutions andlibraries in India since 2013. She is also the President of WICCI – Karnataka Startup Council and has over 25 years of leadership experience in technology (PKI, mobile wallets, blockchain, semantic) and in petroleum industry. Prior to venturing into the Edtech industry, Kalaivani  was the MD & CEO of eMudhra Digital Signatures and also Chairperson of India PKI Forum. We believe that her unique journey as a leader and revolutionary entrepreneur will inspire many young women. Women Entrepreneur India engages in an exclusive conversation with Kalaivani to deduce about her brainchild, endeavours, and more. Below are the excerpts.

Give us a brief overview of Mintbook. What are some of the important expertise of your business? Mintbook is a Digital Library Platform that provides curated copyrighted e-content for educational institutions, libraries, corporates and individuals. Established in 2013, it is a pioneer in Digital Library services in the B2B SaaS platform.Mintbook  holds digital rights from more than 100+ publishers in English, Hindi and 10+ regional languages. The product follows a three-step curation process – tagging materials at the segment level,  micro tagging of reference materials to each individual title and AI-driven tagging to individual users. This makes the content very relevant to the end users. Content in the form of eBooks, instructional video lessons, video news clippings, eJournals, quizzes, audiobooks, etc., is transformed into exclusively tagged materials that make learning simpler and easier.

Tell us about the underlying idea behind the firm and some of the company’s most unique features.

The story of Mintbook started in Odisha, where children travel difficult terrains just to reach the school; let alone the accessibility to textbooks and good teachers. Mintbook is built to make learning resources accessible and affordable to all. In the last 8 years, our focus has been on the holistic learning market – Schools, Colleges / Universities, Corporates, Libraries, Community Learning Cetres– Urban / Rural. We have not only built innovative  products but also innovativeness in business models. What is technology if we cannot take the knowledge of mankind to the common man, even in the remot village

What can Educational Institutions exclusively avail from Mintbook?

We have implemented the Unified Learning Platform, which includes Digital Library, Learning Management and Placements (for higher education) / Career counselling (for K-12). This makes self-learning and instructor-led teaching effective and also connects them to their future – higher studies or job opportunities. Mintbook is recommended by AICTE for technical institutions and is also listed under NEAT (National Educational Alliance for Technology). To date, 250+ universities and colleges are using the Mintbook Unified Learning Platform.

”Headquartered in Bangalore, Mintbook has a presence in Usa, Africa & Nepal as well"

Highlight some unique propositions of your business.

Mintbook is a social enterprise with a vision of Inclusive and Sustainable learning. We have  implemented Digital Libraries in Gram Panchayat Libraries and Village Schools; it involves the online and IoT system. MBOX is an IoT device for offline access to the digital library. It is a mini server that holds the Mintbook digital library software & renders the encrypted content, without internet & without wire to multiple devices within a certain radius. The online digitallibrary https://mintbook.org is an exclusive school digital library movement to bring Pan-India schools into digital learning with highly  feasible options. We have successfully implemented digital library & learning in large companies such as the National Aids Control Organization, Geological Survey of India, Canara Bank, Kolkata Port Trust and many more. Mintbook promotes Self-Regulated Learning philosophy amongst students and thereby encouraging intellectual classroom conversations with teachers. Technology has been used to facilitate not only the rendering of digital content but also to address the self-efficacy needs of students. Tools enable students to highlight and take notes within the book, study plans – alerts, group study plans, teacher tagging resources for students, assignments, quizzes at the chapter level, subject level and teacher-driven open quiz for the class, etc.

What are the significant milestones you cherish the most? What is your vision for Mintbook’s growth?

Mintbook has a strong foray into community learning. Karnataka Public Library Project which was started in 2019 was adopted extensively during the pandemic by school students in Karnataka. With 372 digital public libraries, the project boasts of more than 20 million users within a span of 3 years. Recognizing the innovative approach of digital learning adoption in rural areas in public libraries, the central government has recommended this project as a role model to be replicated inother states. This is a significant milestone for Mintbook and validation of its impact on learning society. Our next level of innovation is in NFT for digital content and metaverse for virtual classrooms in LMS. This is slated for release in the market in 2023.

What would your advice be to young women? Any leader you admire the most?

I believe that women have come a long way in breaking many glass ceilings but the journey is still a long way to go. My advice to women entrepreneurs is persistence – chase what you believe. I admire Ms. Kiran Mazumdar for being a self-made leader and building a large business from scratch .

Kalaivanichittaranjan, Founder & CEO – Mintbook, President - Wicci Karnataka Startup Council

Kalaivani Was Recognized As Women Entrepreneur (2016) By Emerg, Startup Entrepreneur Of The Year (2018) By Meity (Goi) & Had Been Earlier Awarded As Women In Technology By Indo-Us Science & Technology Forum & Presented In Tie, Silicon Valley, Usa.