Nigerian EdTech uLesson Raises $7.5 Million in Series A Funding

Nigerian-based edtech startup uLesson, which sells digital educational materials to students, has raised $7.5 million in Series A fund.

The funding round was led by Owl Ventures, which closed over $500 billion in new fund money some months ago. Other firms included in the funding round were LocalGlobe, TLcom Capital, Founder Collective, and other investors.

In November 2019, uLesson generated $3.1 million in seed funding.

The unfortunate coronavirus pandemic in the world may have caused many businesses to suffer, however, the same cannot be said for uLesson. The edtech startup launched its services into the market barely weeks before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

“The ground became wet in a way we didn’t see before,” said founder and CEO Sim Shagaya. “It opens up the world for us to do all kinds of really amazing things we’ve wanted to do in the world of edtech that you can’t do in a strictly offline sense.”

The new global way of going digital has benefited the edtech, as more countries, especially in Africa are embracing the concept of remote education. Through its offerings, uLesson is providing supplementary education to help students excel despite the current coronavirus impact on the education sector.

Shagaya added that the company gains will enable them to “go online entirely by Q2 this year,” before then the company has been selling out SD cards containing its lessons to students. He said he hopes to see the edtech evolve into a live, online platform instead of what it currently is.

uLesson has already begun experimenting with live tutoring. It has so far tested a new feature that allowed students to ask questions while watching pre-recorded material. The result turned in more than 3,000 questions per day, indicating high demand and interest.

“We want you to be able to push a button and get immediate support from a college student sitting somewhere in the continent who is basically a master in what you’re studying,” Shagaya said. This inspiration was gotten from Quizlet, Chegg, Brainly, and others.

Since the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, e-learning startups have seen a perfect opportunity to capitalize on, especially in Africa where there is a good number of young people with a passion for education.

“Everybody sees that Africa is a big opportunity,” Shagaya said. “But everybody also sees that you need a local team to execute this.”

The uLesson app has over one million downloads and is positioned to become the future of e-learning in Africa as the world continues to go digital.