Disney Magical English, Kids Club and more — “Lux Content” towards the development and education of children

The IT industry of Uzbekistan is developing by leaps and bounds. And this is a great merit not only of the Ministry of ICT and IT Park, but also of local IT companies and specialists. One such company is Lux Content, a provider operating in the markets of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. IT Park’s guest today is the director of the company Azizbek Ibragimov.

— Tell us about yourself and the company.

— We have been in the IT services market for 18 years. Over the years, we have managed to implement more than 200 successful projects. Our company is a developer of educational and entertainment services for subscribers of cellular companies. Our services have always been and remain in demand by users, which we are very proud of, since our company has its own approach to the provision of services.

Basically, our work is concentrated in Uzbekistan, but two years ago the company entered the market of Kazakhstan in a test mode and began to cooperate with Kcell. I want to note that the cooperation turned out to be productive and successful. Now we plan to launch our services with Beeline Kazakhstan and Tele2.

— What is the role and importance of providers in a rapidly developing modern society?

— In general, providers, in addition to being developers of additional services, also serve as a bridge between users and copyright holders. In today's fast-growing world, the content services sector occupies a special place, and the task of providers is to provide high-quality additional services to users, that is, to help consumers have access to the content of copyright holders.

— What content is the most promising now and what services may be of interest to users?

— Recently, the segment of premium mobile games and useful applications for cellular subscribers has been especially attractive. This is when a user, for a small subscription fee, gets access to a large number of games and applications without built-in ads and with activated premium items.

An example is our joint digital service Apps Club and Footbal Fantasy, which we launched in 2020 with our foreign partner and mobile operators Ucell and Beeline, which has become in demand and popular among users.

— Educational content and projects for children are very relevant now, does your company have any solutions in this area?

— You correctly noted that the issue of education has recently become very relevant thanks to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. At one of the conference calls dedicated to the education system, our president voiced development plans and large-scale reforms in the industry. Of course, education reforms, improving its quality, will undoubtedly lead to the development of the state in the future.

In recent years, especially after the pandemic, the demand for educational services has been growing, we all know that the majority of users have switched to online learning. Then our team began to think, what projects can be created for children? Since we have all become parents ourselves, it was especially helpful for us to ask ourselves this question.

All this inspired the launch of some projects. For example, now my colleagues and I, together with our partner BEMOBI, are negotiating with mobile operators, in particular with Beeline, to launch educational services that will help our young generation develop.

Another project, the Kids Club - Develop service, will help children develop, and the Disney Magical English project will help children and young people learn English with the help of Disney cartoon characters. In our opinion, this is a very interesting tool for learning a language.

In addition, we are working on a project that in 2023 will provide all mobile operators and the Ministry of Public Education with a roadmap for 10 years. The project is designed for children from grades 1 to 11.

— Can you advise parents on how to properly protect children from bad content?

I would advise parents not to be too strict with their children. You need to be able to talk with your child, find out what he is most interested in in the world of the Internet, provide him with high-quality, developing, educational and at the same time interesting content for him. And trust me, it's worth your time.

— What would be your message to other companies so that they also invest in children's projects?

“Children are our future, and we must invest in this future. I really want companies to cooperate more with schools, organize free clubs, perhaps excursions to their enterprises in order to acquaint children with various professions. It is necessary to develop as many projects and services related to education as possible in the form of games that are interesting for children.

— There is competition in every industry. How do competitors see your company? After all, there will always be someone who does not play by the rules.

— Our company has always been for healthy competition, because it helps to develop not only your company, but the entire industry. In general, we welcome it and believe that competition is the engine of progress.

— How do you see the future struggle for the market between cellular operators?

— Personally, I believe that in the near future, the meetings and negotiations that are currently taking place on various platforms, such as ZOOM, SKYPE, etc., will move into the realm of the metaverses. Millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha will use their avatar to meet people in a virtual space that will mimic the feel of a real room. My opinion: companies that will build an ecosystem around themselves earlier will become market leaders.

— How, in your opinion, has the IT industry changed since 2016?

— Since 2016, there has been a big leap in the development of the IT market in our country, many government decisions have come true. Take, for example, the greatly increased speed of the Internet in Uzbekistan - this is a huge achievement and a big plus. I will add that after the opening of IT Park, the IT sector received a powerful tool that brought the market to a new level. The fact that Uzbekistan has become much more open to foreign companies also played a significant role. There are many positive changes, I am sure that this is just the beginning.

I would also like to note that after the appointment of Sherzod Shermatov to the post of Minister of ICT, employees of the ministry contacted our association of providers to find out about unresolved problems in the field and listen to our proposals for improvement in some issues. It was very pleasant, because you immediately understand: if everything starts so positively, it means that big changes are coming.

— In an interview with the Kazakh edition of Forbes, you talked about the launch of the MetaHi metaverse. At what stage is this project?

— Now we are carrying out planned work, running tests, etc. It took us almost 2 years to develop the MetaHi metaverse. We plan to launch the project in phases by the end of 2023. By the way, we plan to make the popular TikTok blogger Khaby Lame a brand ambassador.

— In which countries do you plan to launch your services?

— For us, at the moment, the markets of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are of interest. And we have already begun the negotiation process.

— Everyone is discussing investments, startups, stocks now. Your opinion?

— In terms of investments, we try to find interesting startups and help them: we provide financial, marketing and expert support so that young and talented guys can get on their feet and turn their ideas into real projects. We also do not forget about hedging risks, and what could be more reliable than the shares of large and stable companies? We invest in VEON, Amazon, Tesla, Google stocks. We are also investing in an interesting and very relevant startup in our country, IMAN.

— What, in your opinion, should be the head of the company in relation to employees?

— Good question. I think the most important thing is kindness! Being a good leader means helping people and taking into account their needs. If you tell an employee who is having difficulty working on a project that his work does not meet your expectations, these words are unlikely to please him. However, it will be a good deed, as it can motivate him to improve, to try to improve his work. This helps to better understand how “good leadership” can drive innovation and enhance competitive advantage. Kindness is considered the core value of our organization.

— I liked your answer about good relations with employees and your attitude towards people. What do you think is the reason for your employees to be willing to be a part of your company?

— I will say openly and advise others: we inspire our employees by trying to identify and develop the talents of their children. If we see in one of the children of employees the desire for some kind of business, whether it be creativity or sports, we will definitely try to help employees, including financially, to develop the talents of their children in the best schools, sports clubs, or even with the help of personal mentors. And if any of them wants to start their career with us, we will be very happy.

In addition, every employee who makes great efforts for the good of the company becomes a part of the company, to be more precise, a founder. And I want their children and my children to continue our work.

— What would you wish the younger generation?

— I wish the younger generation to always move only forward, work on themselves, constantly engage in self-education, and of course, be an optimist. It is important to understand that great success is something that comes from hard work. For example, remember our chess player Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who won the World Championship, or Eldor Shomurodov, who now plays in the Italian football club Roma. There are many other guys who, because of the efforts and constant work on themselves, have achieved tremendous success.

— Thank you for your time and amazing conversation. Good luck!