Beenova AI - part of Meet Anna LLC

My name is Jos; I'm CEO and co-founder of Beenova AI, part of Meet Anna, LLC. We build personalized AI mentors to teach and measure Future Skills. With a diverse team of ten, our year-old startup garners global demand given our use of AI for sustainable, scalable 21st century learning, equitable education and upskilling. 

Originally Dutch, but born in Brazil, I've lived in twelve countries: Bangladesh, to Senegal, to Norway, to Canada - and visited 100. I co-founded Girls & Football, an award-winning NGO which received a letter from Michelle Obama. I co-launched mGirls, providing free health info to 65,000+ girls, have run projects for People with Disabilities, Nobel Peace Prize Winners, and written two books (one best-seller).

SingularityU Faculty, 50 Global Heroes Violence Against Children (w Hilary Clinton), 2019 Woman To Watch, Women Deliver Young Leader, Nike Girl Effect Winner, Microsoft YouthSpark winner.

At Meet Anna, we use human-based tech design to change the world. We've built multiple products and solutions for global change. 

For the purpose of this application, the focus is on Beenova AI.

At Beenova AI, we solve the global education crisis with personalized AI mentors that teach and measure 21st century skills. Lack of access to quality education is one of our world’s biggest atrocities. By using Emotional Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence at the heart of our personalized learning solution, we instantly up/re-skill people with billable Future Skills.

Beenova’s personalized AI mentors work on every platform (scalable), understand the learner (personalized), understand 100+ languages (diverse), and teach and measure Future Skills (sustainable).

We all deserve access to quality education and to fair, safe work. By empowering people with skills to build safer and healthier lives, we increase opportunities and solve a myriad of other problems.

Beenova AI solves the global education and employment crisis. In America, 46% of employers can't find employees with skills they need. Large organizations (250+ employees) report 58% talent shortages. Globally, 40% of employers have difficulty filling positions; in advanced economies, 95+ million workers lack employable skills; in the developing world, companies need 45+ million workers with secondary and vocational education. 

Currently, we face a global skills gap and don't have access to:

1. Skilled candidates to fill jobs
2. The capacity to vet recruits
3. The ability to effectively up-skill

Reasons for the global skills gap include:

1. Lack of effective training methodologies
2. Rapidly changing world and inability for humans to 'keep up'
3. New skills required for new jobs
4. Lack of 21st century skills teaching
5. Inability to deal with global pandemic

By 2030, the global talent shortage could reach 85.2 million, people costing trillions of dollars in lost economic opportunity and millions of families a lot of stress. Closing the global skills gap could add US$11.5 trillion to global GDP by 2028. 

There are currently almost no strategic solutions to solve our global education crisis. That's why we build scalable personalized AI mentors that understand over 100+ languages, are inclusive and teach billable skills.

All our products at Meet Anna, LLC have been dedicated to equitable global education, including Beenova AI. 

Beenova AI uses personalized AI Mentors to teach and measure Future Skills. Our AI mentors understand 100+ languages and work on every platform. Our unique, micro-learning curricular approach combines practical teaching (billable skills) with a problem-solving mindset.

Beenova AI's mentor, Ira, follows three simple steps:

Step 1: Ira builds a personality profile of each learner, tracking skill gaps and a talent profile. Ira understand the skill level and skill gap of each user individually.

Step 2: Ira does a daily mindset check-in: by understanding where our head is at, we are stronger performance and can learn techniques to build better habits that will see us through tough times. 

Step 3: Ira serves personalized learning content directly related to the learning journey. Ira has open-ended conversations with the user.

Processes and Technology: Beenova AI uses Machine Learning and AI to build effective, open-ended discourse with the user and leverages strategic skills assessment against billable, 21st century skills.

Expectations: We expect our groundbreaking technology, built with accessibility, scalability and sustainability in mind, changes the Future of Work and Learning.

We take community impact and user experience/engagement seriously: our product has been used in Singapore, South Africa, the US, Canada, KSA, The Netherlands, Kenya, Greece, Guatemala - a wide range of economies and challenges.

Communities we serve: The single mother working hard to maintain her family and income, the executive aiming to stay relevant in a changing world, the entrepreneur solving local challenges...we all benefit from personalized learning.

Roll-out: Corporates and consultancies. Geographically agnostic, we structure partnerships with (1) HR consultancies by supporting with training and vetting, and (2) with organizations with wide, global reach (MNCs).

Roll-out: Tech players - MS Teams, Slack. Leverage existing networks to provide Ira to larger populations.

Roll-out: Schools and universities. Radically re-think education by replacing existing, ineffective methodologies and curricula. 

Understanding needs: The AI speaks to each learner individually, resulting in immediate product feedback. Meet Anna projects have always included community engagement. Beenova AI is no different - feedback and engagement is tracked immediately.

Impact: By providing immediate access to upskilling - with at the heart of what we do accessibility and personalization - we meet each learner at the level they need to be met.

Elevating opportunities for all people, especially those who are traditionally left behind.

I've founded numerous organizations using technology and creativity for good. At Beenova AI, we combine the latest Machine Learning technology (my co-founder is an MIT alum and AI expert) with human-first thinking.

We scale conscientious learning and access to quality education faster and more effectively than ever before. The combination of the world's most powerful technology and human passion for a better world - demonstrated across countless projects across every continent - means more safe spaces, increased capacity for love and conscientiousness, while providing learning the world needs.

Antonios Kondis, CTO and co-founder of Beenova AI and I met in Greece in October 2018. 

We were participants at a unique "un-conference" called Stream that calls on each attendee to participate in various activities - we'd both signed up for the band (myself as singer, Antonios as guitarist). 

Our combined passion for Emotional Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, technology and equality led to Beenova AI.

We're one of the few EdTech startups that is radically re-thinking how to change the learning journey, powering up our technology with the most advanced AI prioritizes user EI and Future Skills needs. Our amazing and diverse team, unique skillsets and global reach shows our commitment to building a better world through human-based tech design.

We came up with our idea in an organic way. Now, we work with a small, highly agile and effective, global team ready to disrupt education. I grew up in twelve countries and have been to 99, which provides me with a holistic view of global learning systems, while Antonios received a full fellowship from MIT and has been working in AI for the last eight years. Our team is perfectly positioned to lead the world in education transformation.

Growing up across the world fueled my passion for global change. I absolutely 100% cannot handle seeing people in pain or knowing they don't have access to equal opportunities. It does not have to be this way and it should not be this way. My parents encouraged my brother and myself to really look at the world around us, and to always contribute and give and be mindful of the situation of other people.

I have seen over 99 countries and have had the privilege to work with thousands of people from all over the world - hearing their stories, seeing their pain, and trying to think about which resources we have access to that could immediately solve these problems.

It keeps me awake at night, knowing there are children who may not have access to the future they deserve and that otherwise talented and caring people are being sidelined simply because a system does not serve them.

My track record of successful products and projects in education, technology, and social change indicate I am well-positioned to scale and grow Beenova AI alongside my co-founder and our team.

Successful Initiatives at Global Level include:

• Founder of Award-winning NGO Girls & Football SA
• Co-launched mobile health app with free health information for girls
• Author of two books (one Amazon best seller, one 2018 Best Book) on gender and inclusion
• Co-conducted 738 interviews with boys and young men re masculinity, gangsterism, role models
• Worked with Nobel Peace Prize Winner Leymah Gbowee
• Faculty at SingularityU - Future of Exponential Education
• MIT startup accelerator finalist

Founder / Leader Across Products, Projects, Services include:

• Co-launched mobile health app for girls health reaching 65,000+ girls
• Emphasis working in marginalized communities - eg Eritrea to South Sudan
• Ran People with Disabilities Campaign - IBM, Ogilvy
• Award-winning girls' sport programming - Nike Girl Effect Winner

Prioritize relationships in communities:

• Work with refugees in 2005 in South Sudan post signing Comprehensive Peace Agreement
• Workshops, training in rural areas across Eritrea, South Africa, Ghana
• Workshops, training in communities across Middle East: UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
• Course design for non-native English Speakers to build inclusivity
• Open discussions and readings with multicultural diasporas, immigrant communities, NY

Global Reach

• Panelist at Women's Career Fair, Glowork, Saudi Arabia
• Workshop Leader at Glowork, Saudi Arabia
• Director Award-winning documentary "Can I Kick It?" on women's football
• Speaker /trainer in countries like Angola, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Colombia
• 25,000 subscribers across Social Media channels

I'm not under any pretense that I was born into this world underprivileged. With kind, loving, supportive parents, a great group of friends and a healthy body and mind, I feel deep gratitude when I wake up. 

I'm not here to pretend my story or my life is better or worse than anybody else. 

I grew up - in the eyes of some, this is a luxury - moving around to a new continent every three years, first; as a result of my parents' careers and thereafter; my own. Throughout this nomadic, disrupted and often lonely life, I've learned one thing: That the injustice I saw around me was not something I would be willing or able to tolerate. 

I undoubtedly faced my own battles: from being severely bullied, to having a fragmented childhood, to facing the worst of stereotyping (sexism is real). What most fiercely drives my passion for equality, education and inclusion is knowing what it feels like to be an outsider.

I can relate to the human race in our collective quest for home, connection, education, and belonging. My continued efforts to bridge the global inequality gap have driven me to where I am today.

Prior to moving to Cape Town in 2010, I'd never been to South Africa. Without a network, I called the South African women's football team, Banyana Banyana. My co-founder at what became an award-winning NGO Girls & Football SA, Sonia Bianchi, and I were on a mission to bring equality to the playing field for girls in sport.

We had a clear goal. Reaching that goal was a mixture of determination, persistence and the beautiful spirits of others around us. 

We were told South Arica is dangerous. So, I took my bike and met with communities in their own homes and schools - in those very townships we were warned about. We were told we wouldn't succeed in building inclusion for women in sport, yet by the time I left South Africa, Cape Town International Airport displayed a massive billboard gracing the departure hall, that featured the women's football team. Girls & Football reached 70,000 girls and young women in a country known as the rape capital of the world while breaking global gender barriers.

My goal is to build products that inspire change, serve humanity, and add value, in an honest, transparent and at times, fiercely passionate way.

NA

Innovation means that you are willing to take what works and make it better. That you're ready to change up what doesn't work at all. It means being open finding solutions to the world's biggest problems. 

It means going where others don't.

By understanding the culture and unique challenge of different countries I've lived and worked in, I've tried to build befitting solutions to real global challenges. In the case of Beenova AI, the product we're focusing on as part of the MIT Elevate Prize Challenge, we are innovating and radically rethinking education. We feel current educational systems don't work. 

Solutions in the space come in many forms, around the areas of learning, assessment and performance improvement. Companies in this space include LMS, Assessment, Micro-learning and LXP, as it can been seen in the picture below (© Josh Bersin Academy).

Our work is unique because it:

1. Uses the latest AI (Deep Learning) to create a human-based interaction with the technology of our AI mentors;
2. Can be deployed in any communication or collaboration platform with an API, rather than creating its own platform and therefore can be used by everyone without new software installation and at no cost;
3. Is made to understand one's level vs. 21st century skills that equip the learners for the future of work; and
4. Takes advantage of any learning content in the public domain from sources ranging from MIT TR and HBR to Singularity University and Inc.com, lowering costs for content development and/or licensing

The long-term outcome of Beenova AI is to increase the access to viable and rewarding education so that more people can build a sustainable life in a rapidly changing society.

To achieve this goal, we identified two preconditions: people need to have relevant skills (1) and good jobs or know-how on creating other forms of income need to be available (2). 

To gain relevant skills, we need to create access to education (3) as well as the opportunity of practical on the job learning (4). 

A practical application of our technology: Across Africa, 90% of the firms are one-person ventures, often lead by reluctant entrepreneurs. As long as those firms are unable to grow and hire staff, new entrepreneurs will enter the market reluctantly and no scale advantages will be achieved. To build bigger and more successful businesses that can hire and develop their employees (5), we need more skilled and successful entrepreneurs to build those businesses (6).    

By providing access to a personalized AI Mentor, everybody has access to billable 21st century skills to start and build a successful business or to apply for a sustainable job with fair income (7). 

The organizations we aim to partner with have established relationships in their respective communities. Through community reach and outreach through existing networks, Beenova AI can rapidly scale (8).

Beenova AI - scalable, sustainable AI and EI mentors will be accessible on personal devices via easy-to-access platforms and teaches entrepreneurial, billable and relevant 21st Century Skills. 

Through a personalized learning journey the AI Mentor understands skills gaps and serves relevant learning content to immediately and effectively close gaps. Learning is tracked against essential skills that allow entrepreneurs and employees to upskill. Entrepreneurs and employees will also learn how to be good leaders and multiply these skills amongst their workers, answering to the earlier mentioned preconditions of training and on the job learning (9).

Our solution is extremely scalable, because it is based on widely used communication platforms and personalized, automated AI mentors. Where direct interest exists amongst corporations, higher education institutions and governments, we can easily scale to 10s of millions of people.

Currently serving: 3000 and growing fast 

Serving in one year: 100K+ 

Serving in five years: 10s of millions, depending on interest from organizations and governments (beyond our B2B scope)

ONE YEAR:

• Deploy Beenova AI across priority countries 
• Help governments, companies and learning organizations provide quality education and prepare for the Future of Work
• Provide immediate relief for the global unemployment crisis
• Create unique data sets regarding mental health, emotional awareness and learning preferences

FIVE YEARS:

• Our long-term goals are to change the world, by developing its human capital to the fullest degree and ensuring entrepreneurs have increased access to build strong business that allow them to equally participate in the Future of Work
• To upskill entrepreneurs and help them support their employees and their employees' families and communities
• To upskill the workforce in order to cope with the technology that is being built
• To bring unparalleled education opportunities by presenting the AI Mentors in the form of "Mini MBA"

Financial

• We have experience with NPO and for-profit models
• We understand a for-profit model with investment through MIT Solve from partners aligned with our mission will help us exponentially accelerate our growth

Technical

• We have fully developed the technology - ready to go!
• We have a plan for product improvement, in addition to a team of demo testers that provide constant feedback
• As we are a year old start-up, we turn solutions around quickly and efficiently
• Internet connectivity creates challenges for platform interactions
• Device inequality might make the platform harder to use on certain devices

Cultural 

• We understand cultural barriers are deeply engrained in traditional systems and may withhold the level of conversation we need around skills development and innovation market business
• Through years of work on the African continent, we have a strong network of relevant partners - from NGOs, to corporates, to universities, to thought-leaders/role models - that we can leverage

Market barriers: 

• Right now, we work with the most innovative, human-based application of AI technology right now - in the past year, we have noticed that the understanding of AI and AI application is very limited 
• We see this as a challenge as the unknown may cause apprehension in user adoption
• However, we have researched the priorities of organizations participating in this challenge, and we are confident we can deploy strategically throughout the right partner networks and engagements

Financial

• Work with strategic partners and use the MIT Solve prize to accelerate our growth

Technical

• Continue to work on our technology and improve our algorithms

• Further develop Beenova's AI capacity

Cultural 

• Continue growing our multi-cultural team

• Request input from a variety of stakeholders

• Work with a wide range of product testers

Market barriers: 

• Conduct research to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate market changes where / if possible

• Use global dissonance as an opportunity for innovation

• MIT EF Greece: We were a finalist in MIT EF Challenge for startups.
• Microsoft: We are certified Microsoft Partners. 
• Google: We are Google Certified Educators (Level 2)
• SingularityU: We are part of the Future of Exponential Education team at SingularityU. 
• Abundance360: We partnered with Peter Diamandis, Abundance360, on a session re the Future of Education. 
• xEdu: We partook in a program called xEdu, based in Helsinki, Finland. 

Previous partners include, from Meet Anna LLC based initiatives and others:

• Nike Girl Effect Challenge
• Women Deliver
• Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ashoka
• Sprinklr
• South African Institute for Entrepreneurship
• FIFA
• Socionext

We consist of both for-profit and not-for-profit models and projects,. Henceforth, we are prioritizing our focus on for-profit ventures in order to decrease our dependence on outside grants and funding.

Our core product, Beenova AI, is sold under a recurring fee-for-service model. It costs less than a mobile phone plan and is affordable for individuals, schools, nurseries and governments in most countries in the world. For example, Europe spends ~4.7% of GDP (2017) on Education to deliver a largely outdated curricula that does not prepare children for the future. What Beenova AI asks is a few €/$ per learner per month to build a personalized learning, emotional and personality profile and direct the right content/activity to the right person at the right time. We offer packages to learning institutions (nurseries, schools etc) and caretakers with higher price points, which offer deeper, customized and more personalized insights on the learners.

We are interested in building strategic funding opportunities through relevant relationships across Africa.

We are also able to leverage an income from institutions to whom our data on financial inclusion and data never before gathered is highly beneficial.

Our path to financial sustainability and growth is through our B2B model which allows us to sell our product and drive revenue. We have been able to keep our expenses low as a result of working efficiently and strategically and as a result, we believe we will cover our expenses by the revenue we are already generating.

NA - We are self-funded.

NA

We're applying to MIT Elevate because our ground-breaking technology can change the lives of millions of people around the world - especially now given Covid-19 - that desperately need upskilling to participate in our rapidly changing world. 

Our solution immediately answers some of the biggest challenges around the Future of Work. Because of our approach to conscientious learning, Beenova AI changes communities, countries and the world-at-large.

The world can’t wait. 

The biggest challenges MIT Elevate would help us solve are:

• Reach;
• Business Development;
• Strategic Growth;
• Relevant Partnerships.

We believe in our solution, have proven we have built technology that works, have already delivered it across numerous countries and have the track record that proves our dedication to making this a global success.

Product/service distribution: We've built our technology in 10 months. We've worked with users across a variety of countries. We're ready to scale. We'd like to form strategic partnerships that allow us to further deliver AI to change the Future of Learning and the Future of Work. 

Board members or advisors: The current global pandemic has made it difficult for us to leverage networking opportunities. A strategic board advisors would help forge new connections.

Legal or regulatory matters: Legal is one of the biggest expensive for an any starting company. We would like to work with strategic legal partners that can help guide us on important IP matters moving forward with an interest in the emerging field of AI. 

Marketing: As a startup, it's hard to justify any spend on marketing, media or exposure. We know our work is important - we'd like to share it with the world!

NA