Many children find it challenging to openly express their thoughts and emotions, leading to isolation, misunderstanding, and emotional disconnect within families. This issue is especially acute for children with ADHD and autism, who often encounter additional obstacles in articulating their inner experiences, further complicating their ability to connect with their caregivers. But this is where MangaChat aims to play a role.
MangaChat is committed to bridging this communication gap, ensuring all children can authenticate themselves and maintain an open dialogue with their caregivers, including parents, therapists, and counsellors.
The platform is designed to empower children by providing a safe, fun, and accessible online journaling experience that encourages them to explore and share their inner worlds. Through this innovative approach, MangaChat aims to foster stronger emotional connections within families and support the well-being of children with diverse communication needs.
“While many online journaling tools exist, MangaChat stands out by integrating the arts, artificial intelligence, and a gamified cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) process. This unique combination offers a holistic approach to supporting children’s mental well-being,” says Renee Chong, Co-Founder and COO, in an email to e27.
MangaChat’s product development process is highly iterative and user-centric. It begins with feedback on the initial minimum viable product (MVP) gathered from partner schools and mental institutions.
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The platform is continually refined through user surveys and insights from teachers, therapists, and counsellors, focusing on enhancing the front-end user experience and gamifying the journey to increase engagement among children.
On the backend, MangaChat’s system analyses captured data and integrates CBT with AI, delivering tailored images and messages that align with the children’s emotions and specific scenarios, thereby improving their overall engagement and communication.
“We engage with them through a B2C model by reaching out to parents, a B2B model by partnering with schools and afterschool programmes, and a B2B2C model by collaborating with counsellors and psychiatrists,” Chong says.
MangaChat currently operates on a subscription-based model. It also offers white labelling services and Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, allowing institutions to customise the platform to meet their specific needs.
“By combining these revenue streams and strategies, MangaChat can ensure financial sustainability while providing valuable services to children, parents, and professionals. The diverse approach to monetisation allows for flexibility and resilience, adapting to market demands and user needs over time.”
Next destination
MangaChat is one of the startups nurtured under the Technology for Sustainable Social Impact (TS2) accelerator programme.
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TS2, a collaborative initiative by NUS Enterprise—the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore—and the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, raiSE, aims to empower startups committed to creating human-centred social impact. Through this programme, MangaChat has gained crucial financial support and access to a vast ecosystem of networks, fostering connections that have been vital to its development.
Chong expresses profound gratitude for the mentorship and guidance received through TS2. The programme’s emphasis on shared experiences and community has been instrumental in their journey. She highlights the invaluable support from mentors such as Michelle Lim, CEO of M.A.D. School, and Hugh Mason, who provided critical insights and guidance that have significantly contributed to MangaChat’s growth.
“It truly takes a village to raise a child, and we experienced that firsthand through the TS2 Accelerator programme,” Chong says.
MangaChat’s founding team comprises diverse professionals with extensive experience in their respective fields. Leading the team is Founder and CEO, Sheng-Fang (Joe) Huang, who holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and has a decade of experience as a university professor in Medical Informatics.
COO Renee Chong brings 17 years of experience as an educator and policy maker with the Ministry of Education in Singapore.
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The team also includes CTO Paul Yao, a seasoned full-stack web developer with 10 years of experience, CCO Bernard Soo, who has 18 years of banking experience and previously served on the EXCO of the Singapore Fintech Association, and Dr. Chao-Hsiang Hung, a Data Scientist with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. The total team size currently stands at eight members.
To date, MangaChat’s funding has been raised through personal contributions from the founding team’s friends and family. As the company continues to grow, the team is actively exploring opportunities for external investment to support its future development and expansion.
Chong shares the company’s plan for 2024 and beyond: “We aim to deepen our partnerships with primary schools, afterschool centres, and mental institutions in Taiwan and Singapore. We also aim to broaden our reach to the youth segments.”
“Additionally, we will introduce MangaChat into Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand from 2024 and beyond.”
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Image Credit: NUS Enterprise
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