Kochi: Byju Raveendran, the founder of top educational technology company behind the eponymous Byju's Learning App, has won the Manorama News Newsmaker award for the year 2019.
Raveendran bagged the award after he secured the most number of votes among the candidates short-listed for the final of the Newsmaker contest.
The selection was based on SMS voting by the public.
Raveendran has been accorded the award for his contribution in turning his Bengaluru-based online tutoring firm named Think and Learn Private Ltd as the world’s most valued edtech company.
Actor Jayaram who declared the winner of the contest pointed out that Raveendran could develop a company which gained global attention with the popular tagline “Come fall in love with learning.''
Raveendran in his acceptance speech said that he did not see the award as a recognition of an individual. "It was the recognition given by the people to the idea that made Byju's App a success. This recognition will motivate people to chase their dreams. The support extended by family and friends and the hard work put in by thousands of employees helped in achieving success," Raveendran stated.
Ad filmmaker Sijo Varghese who was present at the final said that parents of Raveendran who allowed him to build a career in his chosen field of interest are role models.
Manorama News instituted the Newsmaker 2019 award in association with KLM Axiva Finvest.
Apart from Raveendran, Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala Teeka Ram Meena, Ramya Haridas, MP, and actor Indrans were also short-listed for the final round of the award.