Nigerian-founded edtech startup, Edukoya, closes $3,500,000 pre-seed round

Nigerian-founded online learning platform, Edukoya has raised $3,500,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by Target Global.

Edukoya, founded in May 2021 but launched this month in beta, will leverage the fund to transition from beta to live launch and build its team and customer base.

The round also received strategic participation from angel investors including European and African founders such as Paystack’s Shola Akinlade, Kuda’s Babs Ogundeyi and Musty Mustapha, Fintech Stash’s Brandon Krieg and Ed Robinson, and Aux Money’s Raffael Johnen, among others.

With plans to go live fully in 2022, Honey Ogundeyi founded the company to connect African students with the digital curriculum content and on-demand teachers for real-time online learning.

Edukoya

The platform combines a data-enabled question bank, world-class teachers, innovative technology and data science to deliver personalised learning across grades.

In its launch week, Edukoya was the second most downloaded education app in Nigeria and asserts that 96% of students using its platform received higher marks during recent tests compared to previous times when they didn’t leverage the platform.

The company also plans to expand its team, increase its user base and improve its technology, as well as support its Pan African and European developer hubs.

“Our vision at Edukoya is to redefine online education for the next generation of Africans. Africa has the fastest-growing school-age population globally, with over 260 million students and counting. Our goal is to democratise access and make high-quality instruction and content accessible and affordable to every student, regardless of where he or she lives on the continent,” said Honey Ogundeyi, founder and CEO of Edukayo.

Lina Chong, investment director at Target Global, said she was delighted to lead the investment and partner with Ogundeyi and her team.

“Edukoya’s mission to provide better quality to millions of African students, combined with the team’s ability to execute on this ambition, left an immediate impression on myself and the whole team at Target Global. Their business has the potential to unlock learner potential and improve lives across generations,” she said.