Professional Profile

Translations: ja

Iqbal Abdullah - Professional Profile

Professional Summary

Technology entrepreneur and software engineer with over two decades of experience building businesses and communities in the Python ecosystem. Currently founder and CEO of LaLoka Labs LLC and Founding Board Chair of Python Asia Organization MTÜ. Former founder of Xoxzo Inc., a telephony API platform successfully acquired by Accrete Inc. in 2021.

Active community leader and advocate for diversity in technology, with extensive experience organizing international Python conferences and serving on the Python Software Foundation Board of Directors. Based in Tokyo, Japan, with a global perspective shaped by work across Asia-Pacific, North America, and European tech communities.

Core Competencies: Software Engineering, Business Development, Community Building, International Collaboration, Technical Leadership, Product Development, SEO & Digital Marketing

Work Experience

LaLoka Labs LLC

CEO/Founder | September 2018 - Present | Tokyo, Japan & Tallinn, Estonia

The "Crazy Labs". We build stuff which interests us and hope to save time, money and make our customers happier human beings. My role is mainly to share my vision of the future with the team, guide them when they're building stuff, make sure everyone else can do their jobs well and making our customers happy. The buck stops with me.

• Building software products including Kafkai (AI SEO Contents & Competitor Insights Tool) and GetOTP (One-Time Password API)
• Leading technical architecture and business development for multiple SaaS products
• Managing operations across Tokyo and Tallinn offices
• Previously operated as Xoxzo Europa OÜ until July 2021, then established LaLoka Labs LLC in Tokyo in June 2021

Python Asia Organization MTÜ

Founding Member & Board Chair | August 2024 - Present | Tallinn, Estonia

• Co-founded Python Asia Organization to coordinate Python community efforts across Asia-Pacific region
• Leading strategic direction and governance as Board Chair
• Building sustainable framework for regional collaboration and knowledge sharing
• Announced initiative at PyCon SG 2025 keynote
• Connecting communities across East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia

MARIMORE ENGINEERING SDN. BHD.

CEO/Founder | December 2010 - Present | Malaysia

MARIMORE ENGINEERING SDN. BHD is the development arm for MARIMORE Inc. in Japan. I am mainly responsible for the hiring of developers to work with us and develop better products for our customers.

Xoxzo Inc.

Director | February 2007 - March 2023 | Tokyo, Japan

Founded Xoxzo in 2007 (formerly MARIMORE Inc. until September 30th, 2015). Xoxzo Inc. is focused on delivering beautiful telephony APIs, easy to use and makes sense.

• Successfully scaled the business over 14 years to serve customers across Asia-Pacific
• Negotiated and completed majority stake acquisition (67%) by Accrete Inc. in October 2021
• Built and led engineering team using Python/Django technology stack
• Established international customer base and payment infrastructure
• Completed full divestment of remaining shares in March 2023

PYCON MY PLT (Limited Liability Partnership)

Board Representative/Founding Partner | December 2015 - December 2019

PYCON MY PLT's purpose, as defined in its contract of incorporation are: - Organizing and hosting a yearly PyCon MY - Organizing and hosting PyCon APAC in replacement of the yearly PyCon MY when deemed appropriate and able - Support and/or organize Python-related events and workshops within Malaysia and Asia Pacific - Work together with other communities in particular Python and in general Open Source Software (OSS) related groups within Malaysia and the rest of the world to further expand the usage and increase users of OSS

As the Board Representative for PyCon MY PLT, my main role is to uphold and execute the purpose of PyCon MY PLT as endorsed in its article of incorporation. Read more at: http://pycon.my/about/pycon-my-plt/

PyCon JP

Board Member/Founding Member | March 2013 - December 2018

• Co-founded PyCon JP Association (一般社団法人PyCon JP)
• Focused on increasing international and out-of-town participation for PyCon JP activities
• Founding member of the organization to establish sustainable conference operations in Japan

FullCourt Inc.

CEO | July 2014 - December 2014

We acquired FullCourt in July 2014. The synergy that FullCourt had with the rest of MARIMORE's services was great, and we planned to leverage FullCourt's innovative technologies to bring better value and simplicity to our customers. FullCourt was wound down in December 2014, with its services being taken over wholly by MARIMORE Inc.

Mikle KK

Developer | December 2009 - July 2010

Mikle creates innovative and informative online services with users and for users.

Amazon Japan K.K.

JP Email Marketing Manager | July 2006 - March 2008 | Tokyo, Japan

My main responsibilities were to increase sales generated from the email channel; This was done by liaising with the different product lines to determine what email campaigns or products worked best.

Other responsibilities included: - Identify marketing best practices and turn them into executable plans for the various product lines - Reporting to senior management on a weekly basis on business targets

Yahoo! JAPAN

Y! Mail Engineer | October 2002 - June 2006 | Tokyo, Japan

I was responsible for the development of new functionalities and also the maintenance of the backend Y! Mail systems.

Education & Certifications

Saga University

Bachelor of Science (BS) | 1997 - 2001 | Saga, Japan

• Engineering Faculty
• Thesis focused on Mathematics
• Activities: Rugby team, Music club

Certifications

• SEO検定1級 - 一般社団法人全日本SEO協会 (May 2025)
• Google Analytics Certification - Google Digital Academy (Skillshop) (April 2024 - April 2025)
• Generative AI with Large Language Models - DeepLearning.AI (July 2023)
• Credential ID: QJWMW59B267F
• Certificate: View on Coursera
• TOEIC 980 points - ETS (July 2002)
• 日本語能力試験 1級 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1) - 財団法人日本国際教育協会 (December 2002)

Community Involvement & Leadership

Python Software Foundation (PSF)

Board of Directors | 2023 - Present

• Elected to PSF Board of Directors in 2023 after multiple candidacies (2020, 2022, 2024)
• Advocate for diversification of leadership and geographic representation within the PSF
• Focus on strengthening connections between Python communities globally, particularly in Asia-Pacific
• Work on governance and strategic direction for the Python programming language ecosystem

Volunteer Roles: - Diversity and Inclusion Work Group (November 2020 - Present) - Getting input from worldwide communities (especially outside of North America and West Europe regions) and forming suggestions for the PSF board to take, in order to increase diversity and inclusion within the PSF and the community as a whole - Trademarks Working Group (September 2020 - Present) - Helping the public to understand and gain permission to the usage of the PSF's trademarks assets, and helping the PSF to understand what their trademarks are being used for

PyCon MY

Various Leadership Roles | 2014 - 2017

• Chairperson for PyCon APAC 2017 (September 2016 - August 2017) - Chaired PyCon APAC 2017 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Set the theme, invited keynote speakers, liaised with sponsors and media partners, prepared venue and was responsible for overall running of the conference
• Co-chair for PyCon MY 2016 (September 2015 - August 2016) - Helped the team organize our 3rd PyCon MY held in IUMW, Kuala Lumpur
• Chairperson for PyCon MY 2015 (April 2014 - August 2015) - Built the PyCon chapter for Malaysia. Following our wonderful turnout with mini PyCon MY 2014, we ramped up to have a larger PyCon in MY for 2015. Managed all aspects of the conference including sponsorships, venue selection, speakers management, liaising with the PSF, ticketing and finance. Most importantly, built a team that would be able to have subsequent and sustainable PyCons in MY in the future
• Finance Manager for PyCon MY 2014 (January 2014 - December 2014) - Founded PyCon MY, the Malaysian chapter of PyCon and managed the finance for having our first PyCon in Kuala Lumpur

PyCon JP

Finance Manager | April 2011 - December 2012

PyCon JP is a non-profit group which aims to connect Python users and developers in JP by organizing a yearly meetup. We had over 200 people attending the 2011 PyCon JP and planned to have 400 people attending the 2012 PyCon JP. Worked closely with the Chair, Co-Chair and members of the PyCon JP group to manage the PyCon JP bank accounts, handle payments, account status reporting, create the financial reports after each event for our sponsors and the public, and create the budget for the event.

EuroPython Society (EPS)

On-site Volunteer | July 2022

Took part by helping with attendees registration and chairing talk sessions as MC.

Speaking Engagements & Honors

• Keynote Speaker - PyCon SG 2025 (June 2025) - Invited to talk about our new community initiative: Python Asia Organization (PAO). It was also a personally important point in my community work, heading back to where it all started in Singapore but this time talking about our future. Read more

• Panelist - "The Future of Software Engineering in the Age of AI" (March 2025) - Shared insights on how AI is reshaping software development, reflecting on real-world applications of AI within my work at LaLoka Labs and Kafkai

• Panelist - "Python in APAC: Addressing Industry Challenges through Community Collaboration" - PyCon PH 2024 (February 2024) - With my experience in working within the region to encourage and increase participation from the various communities in the East and Southeast Asia region since 2010, I shared thoughts as a member of the APAC community on how the community can move forward together with the industry

• Speaker - PyCon MEA 2023 (October 2023) - Invited to speak at PyCon MEA 2023 in the Dubai World Trade Center. My talk was about community building and giving opportunities to the community through conferences, focused on my personal experiences within the region of East and South East Asia

• Panelist - Diversity & Inclusion in the Python Community Panel - PyCon US 2023 (April 2023) - As a member of the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Workgroup of the PSF, we discussed the role and challenges with the PyCon US attendees

• PSF Fellow (October 2022) - Recognized for contributions to the Python community

• Keynote Speaker - PyCon APAC 2022 (September 2022) - Gave a keynote titled "Changing the world, one PyCon at a time", based on my experiences in working with the community to increase participation, diversity and inclusion within the open-source Python communities in East and South East Asia. Also shared ideas on how the community can work together to strengthen ourselves in the future

• Panelist - Diversity & Inclusion in the Python Community Panel - EuroPython 2022 (July 2022) - Took part and gave my views for the panel discussion on Diversity and Inclusion within the Python language community, focused on how we look at it within APAC

• Guest Speaker - WFH Pythonista Series #14 (May 2022) - Invited to share my experiences as an entrepreneur and also as a Work From Home (WFH) Pythonista. Read more

• Keynote Speaker - Python Pizza Hamburg (December 2021) - Presented my talk titled: "Saying Thank You", as a tribute and acknowledgement to the community work done by my compatriots in the Python community. Read more

• Panelist - Diversity and Inclusion for PyCon APAC 2021 (November 2021) - Taking part as a panelist to explain and answer questions on the diversity and inclusion initiatives by the PSF during PyCon APAC 2021. Read more

• Guest Speaker - JomLaunch 5.0 (September 2017) - Presented to the audience our philosophies and values within Xoxzo. Read more

Awards & Recognition

• PSF Community Service Award (November 2024) - Received for contributions to Python community
• PSF Fellow (October 2022) - Recognized for significant contributions to the Python community

Technical Skills

Programming Languages & Frameworks

Python, Django, Flask, PHP, JavaScript, C++, C, SQL

Technologies & Tools

Git, GitHub, Linux, RESTful WebServices, VoIP, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software

Business & Marketing Skills

SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEO Copywriting, Web Content Writing, On-Page Optimization, Off-Page SEO, Google Analytics, Email Marketing, E-commerce

Management & Leadership

Product Development, Product Management, Strategy, Start-ups, Entrepreneurship, Business Development, Management, Team Management, Sales Management, Leadership, Employee Hiring, Technical Documentation

Languages

• English: Native or bilingual proficiency
• Japanese: Native or bilingual proficiency (日本語能力試験 1級, TOEIC 980 points)
• Bahasa Melayu: Native or bilingual proficiency
• Spanish: Elementary proficiency

Location

Currently residing in Nerima-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Resident of Japan since 1997.

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Last Updated: November 2025