Hi! Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started with Mindplus?
My name is Khairi and I’m the founder and CEO of Mindplus Education Sdn Bhd. We have a couple of co-founders in Brunei and Indonesia. We’ve been based in Indonesia for the past few years.
Our goal is to bring change to education with the use of technology. This will be the future of education so we have been doing a lot of research and development to look at how things are going to evolve in the next three to five years.
How did you get started in tech and what sparked your interest in the industry?
I’ve been in the industry for the past six years. I first became an entrepreneur in the publishing sector but it wasn’t long until I realised that technology was being used as the common tool to deliver information. That was when I shifted more towards technology based applications.
I’m passionate about finding the best way to blend technology and education in a balanced way. It’s not about technology for the sake of it. It’s about how we can provide education using technology as a means.
I moved to Indonesia, specifically to Bandung, because it is a hub for education. That’s where all the institutions are producing highly skilled, talented human resources. So I believe the company is in the right place.
App for Mushaf Brunei Darussalam dan Terjemahnnya
What does Mindplus do as a company? And what’s the main thing you guys are working on at the moment?
As we’re focused on EdTech (Educational Technology), we’re trying to identify gaps in education and provide solutions for that. One of our flagship products is Islamic Mind, an application we created to help enhance understanding of Islamic topics.
Conventional learning methods has its limits and children nowadays are not absorbing as much with the traditional methods of education. In the application, visual learning is applied making it easier and fun for kids to learn and engage in the process.
When we look at the market, we see that there are a lot of gaps for improvement and that’s where we see that we can contribute with our flagship product.
You’re referring specifically to the regional market?
We are referring to the global market. We’re studying closely the education market in the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Modernising Islamic Education will take time but we believe we are a step ahead in terms of our research and development on how to really innovate that industry.
Teamwork seems to be a big part of the company’s ethos, what was it like to essentially collaborate with two countries and to bring those various skill sets into one company?
When you talk about talent capacity, Bruneians are very good but we can improve on having that hunger and discipline to get things moving. In Indonesia, the arena is more competitive. Everyone is hungry and wants to be at the top. When I started working in Indonesia with my team, the environment caused us to improve ourselves a lot.
It’s quite touching to see a team that works until midnight to meet deadlines and targets. These things motivate me and push me to become better. I think Bruneians need to expose themselves to working in a dynamic environment. When you see people out there pushing for a common goal it is quite infectious.
One last question! What does Progresif mean to you?
It’s how you shift and adapt to change. Change is always difficult and takes a lot of time but if you are absorbing enough information and knowledge you can progress even faster. I think education is a major factor in how you can be progressive, which is why it’s a part of our mission and vision. It’s very important that everyone gets the right knowledge and education.