Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, has selected 15 education startups working in India to take part in their inaugural ‘Edupreneurs’ programme. The scheme, which is a partnership between Pearson’s Affordable Learning Fund and Village Capital, will support the development of the selected startups, who are all concerned with serving students at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) in India.
Through a combination of mentorships, in-person workshops and distance learning, the startups will complete Village Capital’s globally recognized entrepreneur curriculum, which has been adapted by Pearson to address the specific challenges of successfully scaling a BoP education venture. At the end of the course two startups will be selected by peer review to share $150,000 of capital investment.
Katelyn Donnelly, executive director of the Affordable Learning Fund, said: “We are proud of the enthusiastic response from entrepreneurs across India. We look forward to working and learning side by side with these exciting ventures, on a diverse range of initiatives including tech-enabled rural solutions, direct delivery, teacher training and more. We hope to lead by example and help other investors support innovative education startups in the early, crucial stages of growth.”
Ross Baird, executive director of Village Capital, added: “By creating a community of entrepreneurs all working to provide quality affordable education to low-income students in India, we are hoping to generate an impact not just at the individual company level, but at the sector level across the country.”
The startups were selected after rigorous review and several rounds of interviews from over 125 applications submitted from across India in every arena of education. The 15 startups will gather in Hyderabad to kick-off the incubator programme on 26 September, with the two winners announced in late November.
Ranu Kawatra, CEO and President, Pearson Education India, commented: “Pearson’s long-term strategy focuses on designing products and services specifically for India and other emerging markets. With millions of children still out of school in India, it is need of the hour to make quality schooling accessible and affordable for underprivileged children. Edupreneurs seek to reduce the gap by partnering with entrepreneurs who have the skill and passion for improving access to quality education in poorer communities.”
The 15 selected startups are:
• 40K Plus Education - 40K Plus sets up learning ‘pods’ in rural villages which offer gamified, tablet-based after-school tutoring to students of government and low-cost private schools. The pods generate employment by hiring and training a local to facilitate the after school learning process, maintain equipment, and report outcomes.
• CallystroInfotech - Callystro offers gamified, activity based learning programs mapped to India’s NCERT syllabus for grades 1-8. These are packaged in the form of an integrated curriculum delivery and management system for schools (www.cobels.in), as well as a virtual world for individuals (www.mapoosa.com).
• EdWell Solutions - EdWell Solutions operates cost-effective learning centres with an integrated multimedia tech platform to project live presentations from urban-based lecturers to multiple rural locations, targeting students of primary standard. EdWell also implements e-learning solutions for government schools in Uttarkhand.
• Effect International - Effect International seeks to disrupt the achievement gap for millions of children at the bottom of the pyramid through a scalable network of sustainable, affordable private schools. A lean operational model trains qualified edupreneurs to successfully run individual schools supported by centralised management staff, with supplementary curriculum, mentoring, and quality control.
• Experifun Learning Solutions - Experifun sells kits of hands-on devices to facilitate activity based, hands-on science learning, mapped to every major education board in India. One kit serves one classroom, covers one academic year of science curriculum, and lasts for multiple years. In-school teacher support is included.
• Jugnu - Jugnu aims to improve mathematics and English learning outcomes for elementary students in rural India by developing content suitable for voice delivery via mobile phones, and delivered in class by teachers as a supplement to existing curricula.
• Magic Pathshala - Magic Pathshala is a mobile education program with lessons to impact literacy and numeracy learning outcomes amongst primary school children in rural India. Magic Pathshala is a separate business within Magic Software, founded in 1990 as a K-12 mobile edtech company.
• MangoSense- Mango Sense’s MangoReader allows users to create, share and learn from stories using simple tools for mobile and web. Teachers, parents and educational institutions can create new stories or remix existing content for varying competencies or languages. All content remains accessible anytime on any device.
• Sage Services - Sage Services is a low cost private school chain located in Andhra Pradesh. It targets underserved communities in mid-sized rural towns, and provides higher quality education at the same price as competing schools.
• Scholowiz Educational Solutions - Scholowiz offers low-cost, high-quality consultancy, evaluation, and certification services, focusing on affordable schools, with follow-on professional development and training programs that last one calendar year and are delivered online using affordable technology.
• SEED Edu Corp - SEED Edu Corp invests in selective low-cost private schools, providing a range of services to improve learning outcomes and operational efficiencies. Through its curriculum, training and management support, SEED addresses the gaps in the low-cost private school segment.
• Sudiksha Knowledge Solutions - Sudiksha is a rapidly growing chain of 22 pre-schools in Hyderabad that taps an overlooked labor pool of educated, usually married women with no previous professional employment. They are trained to run franchise locations near their homes on an incentivised, profit-sharing model.
• RMinds Education - RMinds Education is an education management company that works independently or in association with school leaders to establish, operate, manage and develop quality-driven, affordable schools in India.
• TeachersLikeMe - TeachersLikeMe is an affordable teacher training and certification programme that utilises content from open source Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) delivered straight to teachers through a platform that integrates analytics and testing with individualised SMS follow-up assessments.
• Teer Designs - Classalyze, the flagship product of Teer, is an online platform that uses classroom assessment data to measure and improve learning outcomes. Teachers are able to design assessments and analyse scores on a per concept level, and use insights from analysisto improve future instruction by identifying strengths and weaknesses in the classroom.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Pearson Affordable Learning Fund
The Pearson Affordable Learning Fund makes minority equity investments in for-profit companies to meet a burgeoning demand for affordable education services in Africa, Asia and Latin America.The fund was launched in July 2012 with $15 million of initial Pearson capital. The purpose of the fund is to improve access to quality education for the poorest families in the world. We invest in private companies committed to innovative approaches and improving learning outcomes. See more at: http://www.affordable-learning.com
Village Capital
Village Capital uses the power of peer support to build enterprises that change the world. Inspired by the concept of the “village bank” in microfinance, Village Capital puts the hard tasks of building companies – criticism, strategy, feedback, and basic business fundamentals – in the hands of entrepreneurs themselves. Village Capital organizes cohorts worldwide and runs education programmes on such topics as value proposition, customer validation and building a team to reach scale. In the past two years, Village Capital has launched 18 programmes worldwide, supporting over 300 entrepreneurs from more than 30 countries. Participants have raised $40 million, created over 5,000 jobs and served four million customers. For more information see www.vilcap.com.
Through a combination of mentorships, in-person workshops and distance learning, the startups will complete Village Capital’s globally recognized entrepreneur curriculum, which has been adapted by Pearson to address the specific challenges of successfully scaling a BoP education venture. At the end of the course two startups will be selected by peer review to share $150,000 of capital investment.
Katelyn Donnelly, executive director of the Affordable Learning Fund, said: “We are proud of the enthusiastic response from entrepreneurs across India. We look forward to working and learning side by side with these exciting ventures, on a diverse range of initiatives including tech-enabled rural solutions, direct delivery, teacher training and more. We hope to lead by example and help other investors support innovative education startups in the early, crucial stages of growth.”
Ross Baird, executive director of Village Capital, added: “By creating a community of entrepreneurs all working to provide quality affordable education to low-income students in India, we are hoping to generate an impact not just at the individual company level, but at the sector level across the country.”
The startups were selected after rigorous review and several rounds of interviews from over 125 applications submitted from across India in every arena of education. The 15 startups will gather in Hyderabad to kick-off the incubator programme on 26 September, with the two winners announced in late November.
Ranu Kawatra, CEO and President, Pearson Education India, commented: “Pearson’s long-term strategy focuses on designing products and services specifically for India and other emerging markets. With millions of children still out of school in India, it is need of the hour to make quality schooling accessible and affordable for underprivileged children. Edupreneurs seek to reduce the gap by partnering with entrepreneurs who have the skill and passion for improving access to quality education in poorer communities.”
The 15 selected startups are:
• 40K Plus Education - 40K Plus sets up learning ‘pods’ in rural villages which offer gamified, tablet-based after-school tutoring to students of government and low-cost private schools. The pods generate employment by hiring and training a local to facilitate the after school learning process, maintain equipment, and report outcomes.
• CallystroInfotech - Callystro offers gamified, activity based learning programs mapped to India’s NCERT syllabus for grades 1-8. These are packaged in the form of an integrated curriculum delivery and management system for schools (www.cobels.in), as well as a virtual world for individuals (www.mapoosa.com).
• EdWell Solutions - EdWell Solutions operates cost-effective learning centres with an integrated multimedia tech platform to project live presentations from urban-based lecturers to multiple rural locations, targeting students of primary standard. EdWell also implements e-learning solutions for government schools in Uttarkhand.
• Effect International - Effect International seeks to disrupt the achievement gap for millions of children at the bottom of the pyramid through a scalable network of sustainable, affordable private schools. A lean operational model trains qualified edupreneurs to successfully run individual schools supported by centralised management staff, with supplementary curriculum, mentoring, and quality control.
• Experifun Learning Solutions - Experifun sells kits of hands-on devices to facilitate activity based, hands-on science learning, mapped to every major education board in India. One kit serves one classroom, covers one academic year of science curriculum, and lasts for multiple years. In-school teacher support is included.
• Jugnu - Jugnu aims to improve mathematics and English learning outcomes for elementary students in rural India by developing content suitable for voice delivery via mobile phones, and delivered in class by teachers as a supplement to existing curricula.
• Magic Pathshala - Magic Pathshala is a mobile education program with lessons to impact literacy and numeracy learning outcomes amongst primary school children in rural India. Magic Pathshala is a separate business within Magic Software, founded in 1990 as a K-12 mobile edtech company.
• MangoSense- Mango Sense’s MangoReader allows users to create, share and learn from stories using simple tools for mobile and web. Teachers, parents and educational institutions can create new stories or remix existing content for varying competencies or languages. All content remains accessible anytime on any device.
• Sage Services - Sage Services is a low cost private school chain located in Andhra Pradesh. It targets underserved communities in mid-sized rural towns, and provides higher quality education at the same price as competing schools.
• Scholowiz Educational Solutions - Scholowiz offers low-cost, high-quality consultancy, evaluation, and certification services, focusing on affordable schools, with follow-on professional development and training programs that last one calendar year and are delivered online using affordable technology.
• SEED Edu Corp - SEED Edu Corp invests in selective low-cost private schools, providing a range of services to improve learning outcomes and operational efficiencies. Through its curriculum, training and management support, SEED addresses the gaps in the low-cost private school segment.
• Sudiksha Knowledge Solutions - Sudiksha is a rapidly growing chain of 22 pre-schools in Hyderabad that taps an overlooked labor pool of educated, usually married women with no previous professional employment. They are trained to run franchise locations near their homes on an incentivised, profit-sharing model.
• RMinds Education - RMinds Education is an education management company that works independently or in association with school leaders to establish, operate, manage and develop quality-driven, affordable schools in India.
• TeachersLikeMe - TeachersLikeMe is an affordable teacher training and certification programme that utilises content from open source Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) delivered straight to teachers through a platform that integrates analytics and testing with individualised SMS follow-up assessments.
• Teer Designs - Classalyze, the flagship product of Teer, is an online platform that uses classroom assessment data to measure and improve learning outcomes. Teachers are able to design assessments and analyse scores on a per concept level, and use insights from analysisto improve future instruction by identifying strengths and weaknesses in the classroom.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Pearson Affordable Learning Fund
The Pearson Affordable Learning Fund makes minority equity investments in for-profit companies to meet a burgeoning demand for affordable education services in Africa, Asia and Latin America.The fund was launched in July 2012 with $15 million of initial Pearson capital. The purpose of the fund is to improve access to quality education for the poorest families in the world. We invest in private companies committed to innovative approaches and improving learning outcomes. See more at: http://www.affordable-learning.com
Village Capital
Village Capital uses the power of peer support to build enterprises that change the world. Inspired by the concept of the “village bank” in microfinance, Village Capital puts the hard tasks of building companies – criticism, strategy, feedback, and basic business fundamentals – in the hands of entrepreneurs themselves. Village Capital organizes cohorts worldwide and runs education programmes on such topics as value proposition, customer validation and building a team to reach scale. In the past two years, Village Capital has launched 18 programmes worldwide, supporting over 300 entrepreneurs from more than 30 countries. Participants have raised $40 million, created over 5,000 jobs and served four million customers. For more information see www.vilcap.com.
