BILLIONAIRE property developer Kwek Leng Beng is going big into something he began dabbling in last year - pre-school education. Not just any kind of pre-school education though.

Mr Kwek's chain of pre-school centres, MindChamps, will instill in children as young as 18 months something he excels at - being an entrepreuneur. He is also planning to expand into other countries too.

At the core of the school's strategy is the development of a 'champion mindset' which is inspired by 'What Makes A Champion?' forum started by director of Australia's Centre for the Mind Professor Allan Synder at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

It explores how people like former South African President Nelson Mandela and the late mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary achieved success.

At a press conference on Thursday to announce the launch of MindChamps pre-school programme, Mr Kwek said 'The 21st century demands...a more creative and interactive individuals...who can adapt quickly to change and identify opporuntities.'

MindChamps founder David Chiem said that 25 pre-school centres will open by January 2010. The first centre, which opened in May, is at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.