Have a look at a quick introduction to Mera Library:

Startoholics had a great experience interacting with the founder and CEO of Mera Library- Shabir Mustafa. Indeed, Shabir has come up with a very productive and innovative idea.

Here are the words from the man itself, who loves every part of his job:

Tell us how it all started – where did your vision for Mera Library come from?

The predominance of English and English literature was swamping the Indian languages. Mera Library’s vision was to give Indian language authors and publishers an opportunity to disseminate and monetize their content digitally.

 Where do you think is the future of Internet Startups?

• Socially relevant products and services
• All types of Applications
• Mobile First Strategies

Has Mera Library got the feedback and growth you expected since launch?

There has been tremendous support from the publishing and author communities. We believe this will lead to increased reader participation.

Who do you see as your target audience?

• 70 percent of India is under the age of 25 and this is a huge tech friendly audience.
• Our early adopters will be the older generation who remember the pleasure of reading in their mother tongues.

What makes Mera Library different from others?

• Our focus on Indian languages
• A complete library portal for content owning organizations

Have you had any failures and what did you learn from them?

We have had one pivot and learnt not to ignore market realities.

How long did it take to put together Mera Library? 

We started planning the project in January 2012 and it has taken us 18 months to make it ready for the market.

What are your plans for promoting Mera Library?

• Through Indian language and cultural sabhas worldwide
• Social Media
• Indian language forums on the Internet

Do you have any tie-ups?

Mahiti has developed the portal. Mahiti develops technologies and communications for social change.

What more do you wish to include to take Mera Library to the next level?

Content building through partnerships with publishers, authors and content owning organizations. We look to customer feedback to know what new features and functionalities to add.

How involved are you with fundraising?

We have only just started looking for external participation.  The project has been internally funded till now.

How important is the role of Social Media for success of any startup?

A quarter of the globe is on social networks. A startup that ignores social media is at a disadvantage in today’s networked and connected world.

Any big clients on your list?

We consider an author with one title as a big client. We have two Jnanpith award winners in Kannada and many important publishers from Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and in Urdu.

Though majority still prefer paperbacks over ebooks, a substantial number of readers are going digital as it is apparently more convenient and the best alternative for those who are running short of time.

Do visit Mera Library and explore an archive of books in various regional languages.

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