India's No.1 Multi-City Business Opportunities Show

Q. Share the origin and growth of your company and how did the company opt for franchise route?
SS: Mexus Education is an educational innovations enterprise incorporated in 2008 with origin in India and presence now extended across South East Asia, UAE, and Canada. It is a global venture by the Bilakhia Group. We believe that 21st century education goes beyond school text books and classrooms. We engage a student in a fascinating process of exploration, experience and extrapolation. We recognize that in order to impart education which is successful, it is imperative to make learning exciting. Through our philosophy of EDUTAINMENT (Education + Entertainment), we wish to contribute towards EFFECTIVE education, leading to lifelong learning and not just rote learning for the sake of a degree.

Education is the second largest expenditure head for an Indian family currently, second only to food and groceries. There are approximately 10 CR students in 90,000 private schools in India currently and they spend close to Rs. 50,000 CR annually on educational products and services other than school fee. This is a huge market for entrepreneurs to benefit from. With changing times, the need for having a wonderful learning experience and the increasing purchasing power of the Indian Middle Class, we envisioned that we simply cannot miss out on edutainment retailing.

We are one of the frontrunners to identify the educational retailing market as the need of the hour. With a strong focus on research and development of ‘edutainment’ products, we have launched over 200 products in this space under the aegis of its brand ‘Iken’ and have worked upon a creating a steady pipeline for more innovative products in this segment. The Brand Iken seeks to address the questions of students and prepare them not by the 'rote learning' method but an 'understand and practice' approach through its value added offerings.

Starting our pilot physical retail space at Vapi, we have graduated to a wide network across the country amounting to 100 franchised stores and reach out to over 8 lakh students, parents and teachers.

Mexus Education is reckoned as the Best Debutant Franchisor 2010 at Franchise India Awards and offers franchise opportunities for three of its premier properties; Iken Store (Educational Products Enterprise), Iken Braingym Activity Centre, Iken Brain-e-kids day care & playschool, Iken Scientifica – hands-on science & technology competition cum workshop.

Q. Promotional strategy plays a very significant role in the appropriate growth of the brand. Kindly elaborate?
SS: We believe that on-ground events and BTL activities are the ways to effectively reach out to our audience. We employ our flagship event Iken Scientifica and Iken Braingym to connect with our target customers. Moreover, we employ new media like websites, online emailer and SMS campaigns to announce launches, events and updates both internally and externally.

Q. Franchise India Holdings Limited organizes series of events in the form of BOS (Business Opportunity Show) and FRO (Franchise and Retail opportunity) Show every year to provide a platform to the entrepreneurs and investors to come face to face. Your company participated in BOS Gujarat, what factors motivated you to participate in the event?
SS: Motivating factors for participation:
Local scope: opportunity for interacting with the business community from the city A congregation of entrepreneurs

Q. Share your experience of being one of the participating companies at BOS?
SS: It has been a good hunting ground for leads and has generated good response for our franchisee models

Q. How do you think the brands’ participation in the event has contributed to its growth of your company?
SS: As a direct result of our participation in the event, we have been able to partner with some very committed individuals, who have not only enhanced the scale of our business but have also enriched the organization’s culture and talent pool.

Q. What advice would you like to give to the entrepreneurs and investors aspiring to participate in the show to get maximum benefits from it?
SS: Considering the potential in the Indian Educational scenario, modernization has not yet penetrated deep into the system. Technology has touched every sector, but education sector has still a long way to go. Only 5 % of the existing schools are technologically equipped; other schools have fast started realizing the importance of technology. Increased allocation in education at the Union Budget is an advantage; this would boost business opportunities for ICT-integrated companies in K-12 and vocational segments. Also, we feel that the Indian education market is still nascent with the largest spend being school fee and the second largest expenditure being tuitions. With educational reforms, better career avenues and innovation, this market can be developed into an experiential market. The big potential lies in the space of curricular and skill based learning, right from K-12 to college and professional training. Hence, we would advice that entrepreneurs need to tap into the business opportunities and leverage most out of the sector through wide scale networking offered by this event.