Dubai start-up to launch secure apps for children
Company is developing several products that will ease parents’ concerns, writes Sarmad Khan
Smeetha Ghosh-Jorgensen faced a problem that many parents encounter in today’s internet age: how to safely introduce her son to the digital world. Hoping to solve the problem by joining an online community for parents to seek advice, she was surprised to find a lack of resources on how to address the issue. While there was a range of apps for children of all ages, she realised that what was missing was a one-stop shop for concerned mothers who wanted their children to experience the best of what the internet had to offer in a safe manner.
Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen, 39, intends to fix that problem through Periscope Media. The Dubai start-up, which she founded with a friend and runs as chief executive, plans to create an ecosystem that is built around mothers, with a suite of apps for modern-day families in the Mena region.
“I was unhappy with the solutions that are available right now,” Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen says.
“Our road map of products revolves around our foundation, that is, an online community for mothers [for whom] who we intend to co-create all our products for children [of different ages].”
Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen was born in Bengaluru, India, and moved to Dubai as a teenager. She has called the emirate home for more than 25 years. Married to a pilot, she has worked with global consumer brands for more than a decade in the UAE and Europe.
However, becoming an entrepreneur is what she really aspired to be throughout her marketing career.
“I have always had a strong desire to start my own business, and over many years and countless business ideas later, I finally found ‘the one’,” she says.
The idea of Periscope came during a chat between the founders as Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen discussed her concerns about children’s apps.
The two talked about how they would like to create products that their children could spend time on without worrying about safety, quality and value.
Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen and her silent co-founder – a professional who has worked with technology start-ups in Europe and the Middle East and has helped several companies raise funds – decided to join hands and Periscope was formed early this year.
The company intends to develop KidTech and edutainment apps. The first product it plans to unveil is Cashoo, an app that teaches children between the ages of six and 18 about money management.
Being “money smart” is a topic many children do not learn at school, a niche that Periscope intends to fill.
“By creating engaging and fun real-life experiences, kids will be exposed to how money works at an early age and be better prepared for adulthood,” she says.
The app, which is expected to be functional by February 2021, will help to address the issue of financial inclusion, an important concern for regional policymakers, she says.
Aside from Cashoo, Periscope’s other products include an edutainment app and another that focuses on children’s health and wellness.
However, developing an engaging digital platform and supportive community for mothers in the region remains a priority, Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen says. The range of products that Periscope is developing is mainly around internet safety.
“It is very hard for parents to judge whether the content is age-appropriate or if an application is safe for [children] ... or find the time to keep up with [ever-changing] ways apps gather data and [information] about children,” she says.
Currently, internet safety regulations to protect children are being developed at a different pace across the region.
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act in the US and specific sections of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation seek to make apps safe for children and give parents peace of mind.
Periscope’s ultimate goal is to work with authorities in the Middle East to create awareness and develop or adapt guidelines that make the digital world a safer place for children of all ages.
Periscope, which expects to be profitable within two years of starting operations, is based on a subscription model.
The founders have so far invested $250,000 to put the company through its initial stages and plan to approach venture capital companies and highnet-worth investors before the end of this year for additional funding. Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen declined to give the amount Periscope intends to raise.
“Based on the interest we have received so far, we are confident of raising the necessary funds to get the momentum we need to launch our products,” she says.
After launching products in the UAE, the company plans to expand to Saudi Arabia. India is also a market that is “definitely very attractive”, she says.
Two more team members with finance and businesses development expertise are joining the team, says Ms Ghosh-Jorgensen, who quit her job in July.
Periscope has outsourced the app development process but plans to hire 10 more people by the end of July next year.