Having developed a profound interest in technology since a young age, Mukesh Maran has set himself up to be a heavy game changer for Malaysia’s tech industry with his software development company Segwitz Sdn Bhd.
In an interview with CSR Malaysia, the young enterprising founder shares his motivation to pursue his interest and the purpose of the company which looks to empower others.
Since the age of five, Mukesh Maran has been admiring Bill Gates, who was the world’s richest man. “I did my research and discovered that he was the founder of Microsoft. Hence, I studied about computers and programming during my free time and started building robots when I was in secondary school,” says Mukesh. “I had a plan to establish a business that could benefit a large portion of the community by touching as many lives as possible.”
“I started my first business in 2016, offering services in setting up cyber cafés while from January 2017 to December 2018, I ventured into a video game business as a start-up. We created mobile games,” says the innovative Mukesh.
Segwitz was established in 2019 and it is a software development company that specialises and focuses on mobile apps development and web development. “We are a tech enabler that also provide services on Internet of Things and developed products created by artificial intelligence and machine learning,” says Mukesh.
When Segwitz first started its operation, it was hard for the company to secure projects as they had very little credibility and was new in the market. “We had a very small portfolio and there were many companies offering similar services,” says Mukesh. Finally, his persistency and diligence paid off as Segwitz began reaping its profit as there were projects on a monthly basis. “On the third quarter of 2019, we had already successfully established a core team.”
The company has clients from other countries such as Singapore, Thailand, India and Pakistan. “Our main business is focused in Malaysia and we are trying to bridge the gap in the market to fulfil the business plans of clients by building apps that will drive their plan and purpose,” says Mukesh.
“One of our clients is a start-up that provides sports booking services and we help them build an app. With this app, many people are able to book sports venues with convenience and this will encourage people to be active by participating in sports activities,” says Mukesh excitedly.
Modern technological advancements have opened up endless possibilities of how companies can integrate technology with their social responsibility priorities, and Mukesh has a good idea of what that might look like. “I can say that one of the really important improvements that can happen is the integration and distribution of data. Through the use of technology, companies will be able to share the data they’ve collected through their CSR with other companies and other companies can do the same. This way more CSR activities will be done since they have the data, so they know how to identify the problem and how to solve it.”
And now more than ever, dependency on the internet has increased tenfold with companies looking to digital alternatives to pursue their CSR initiatives. “I can foresee that other stakeholders of the company, customers for example, can take part in the CSR initiatives. GRAB, for example, does a lot of CSR, and whenever you book a trip, you will get loyalty points and purchase coupons with these points, but there is also an option to turn your points into a RM5 donation, maximizing the potential of their CSR by involving their customers.”
“In terms of a national emergency, people will need to be instantly updated, maybe through a centralized list just like the COVID-19 trackers, which was developed by a group of Malaysians developed a COVID tracker for non-profit reasons. So, if on the off chance there is a need for an instant system to be deployed, in our niche, software companies can collaborate to push out something. If a handful of software developers came together, they can develop and deploy a system in a matter of weeks. So, I can say that this is a kind of CSR; a kind of responsibility to society.”
As for his business’ own social initiatives, Mukesh thinks the educational sector is one worth investing in and the encouragement of pursuing a technological career through donations to organizations and clubs in public universities related to the digital field, citing the monumental number of graduates who don’t actually take jobs relating to their certifications whether it be due to a lack of opportunity or unrealistic ideals of a real working environment.
“We would like to retain them in the industry by showing them how to get things done. If we want Malaysia to excel technologically, we must ensure we have the best developers born and nurtured in the country,” relays Mukesh. “We want to have our own academy where we take these fresh graduates and internship students, and give them real-life experience in what it’s like working in a real software company. That means that when they are assigned to a project, there will be senior developers assigned to help these training developers, so they can participate in the academy for 3-6 months that by the time they leave, they will have learned a lot, preparing them for their career, not only mind-set wise but in skillset as well.”
“We will be working with any organization who will support us in these endeavours, because I can see that this direction of CSR is not a small one; the impact will have a large effect. So, we are open with partnering with other organizations to achieve this. This is something we are planning, but the time hasn’t come yet.”
“To become a successful entrepreneur, one has to build up a good character, be persistent and consistent in one’s endeavours to pursue a realistic goal and purpose,” says Mukesh. “A young entrepreneur should also learn from a well-experienced business mentor to avoid making mistakes that could have been easily prevented.”
