Carla Leal Vega, NeeKids' CEO, and Simón Hernández Leal, its CTO, share a passion for human behaviour. "We met through anthropology seminars at university and we’ve been a couple for seven years," they say. The project came about because they both have educational ventures and, based on these different experiences, managed to integrate the vision of what NeeKids is.

NeeKids is one of the companies that has received support from Rising UP in Spain, part of ICEX-Invest in Spain, and focused on attracting foreign entrepreneurs who want to establish and grow in Spain. The selected startups receive resources to develop their businesses in Spain.

What implications has being born in Chile had for you? What can you highlight in its educational system and the improvements necessary?
The project has greatly benefited from the Chilean entrepreneurship ecosystem. There are many high-level professionals, mentors, innovation hubs, equity-free funds, incubators, accelerators, and a well-prepared entrepreneurial culture with a keen interest in promoting projects and seeing them succeed.

In the Chilean educational system, there is significant interest in the adoption of diversity and inclusiveness, understanding that children have their particular needs that require attention and integration, such as socio-emotional development. Some improvements that we are trying to promote include the adoption and dissemination of new technologies to be used in classrooms every day, supporting a culture of innovation in EdTech in all the country's regions.

Why do you want to bring your model to Spain? Why does it have a place here?
Spain has a very particular interest in neuroscience and neuroeducation. Since we won EnlightED at South Summit Madrid in 2019, we have made contacts with education experts and professionals in Spain and Europe, and they have helped us adapt our solution for our expansion into different provinces.

Spain, like, strongly advocates the ideal of integration and inclusion in classrooms. The fundamental pillar of our mission is to ensure that "no child with special educational needs is left behind".

How is Rising UP Spain helping you in this process?
Rising UP Spain has been a great help. It has provided us with a comprehensive soft-landing process in the country, which includes advice, consulting and mentors on issues ranging from administrative implementation, legal issues, immigration procedures and business development, with a focus on adapting to Spanish culture. We are very happy to have the support of ICEX-Invest in Spain and the Rising UP in Spain programme.

Why is having a local partner important?
Each country has its culture, its language, its codes. When a new product is introduced to a market, gaining the trust of customers is essential, and humans trust what they know and find familiar. Local partners help us adapt and make ourselves better known. Many companies do the same, especially in the Edtech area, and have specialised distributors, especially during the early stages of market penetration.

What goals have you set for yourself in terms of expansion?
A key goal we have is to consolidate ourselves in Spain and Latin America, and then move towards the United States. Another country where we see a lot of affinity is Finland, since we use the Finnish standard to measure performance in our tests and reports.

A wish for 2022?
Our main wish is to help the maximum number of children in schools, but also at home. To give parents and professionals the support of a friendly tool that helps them discover new worlds of resources and techniques to personalise learning and achieve optimal performance levels.

Source: El Referente
Read the full interview: https://elreferente.es/america/entrevistas/neekids-plataforma-recomendaciones-recursos-educativos/

^{Photo: NeeKids}