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BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – How Polish edtech startup Brainly notched up 15 million users in India in 2 years $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:10 PM on Tuesday, March 19th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. Connecting global leading educators to the mass population of India. BetterU Education has ability to reach 100 MILLION potential learners each week. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

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How Polish edtech startup Brainly notched up 15 million users in India in 2 years

  • Not only Indian startups that are keen to take a bite out of the $215 billion education pie in the country; international platforms are also eyeing a slice.
  • In fact, Poland-based startup Brainly has quietly been making waves over the past two years.

Athira Nair

India’s edtech ecosystem, ruled by the likes of BYJU’s, UpGrad, Simplilearn, Toppr, Vedantu, Great Learning, and Unacademy, has raised millions of dollars in VC funding over the past five years. But it’s not only Indian startups that are keen to take a bite out of the $215 billion education pie in the country; international platforms are also eyeing a slice. In fact, Poland-based startup Brainly has quietly been making waves over the past two years.

Brainly was founded by Michal Borkowski, Lukasz Haluch, and Tomasz Kraus in Krakow in 2009. The startup has raised $38.5 million (the most recent round being Series B) from seven investors, including Naspers (it also funded India’s first edtech unicorn BYJU’s).

Catching up with YourStory in Bengaluru, Co-founder and CEO Michal recollects that it was a different world when Brainly was launched, with not many global edtech companies, and little investment from VCs. The entrepreneur trio, however, was willing to risk it all.

Michal, who has a degree in corporate finance, recounts, “My parents, who were small-scale entrepreneurs, encouraged me to take risks.

Their motto was: if you are facing a tough decision, fast forward five years. Even if you fail, would you prefer to fail and learn, or never to take the risk?”

The decision to take the risk seems to have paid off. Brainly is now present in over 35 countries, with more than 150 million active users. It claims to be the world’s largest social learning community for students.

In India, Brainly has more than 15 million active users, the same as India’s first and only edtech unicorn BYJU’s. Brainly says it has witnessed 200 percent annual growth since it entered India in 2016, and claims to be the number one education website in India in terms of number of visits it gets. Indian students who use the platform comprise 42 percent secondary and 39 percent higher secondary grade students. However, Brainly is not monetising in India right now. Michal stresses,

“We are in the growth stage; we want to reach every student in the world, and India specifically. We are not focusing on profit; we are still working on our business model.”

In Asia, Brainly is also present in Indonesia and Philippines, two countries that Michal claims have great push for education and a sizeable population to scale up.

How Brainly works

Brainly aims to help students with curriculum-related, specific questions, unlike most edtech startups in India that focus on test preparations and personalised learning programmes. Students connect to their peers to help strengthen their skills, from mathematics and science to history and more.

Michal reminisces that as a teenager, he found essays hard to write, but was too embarrassed to ask for help. “It was frustrating for me. In the online world, the process is much easier.”

Lukasz Haluch, Co-founder of Brainly, is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.

A question from a student of Class 10 can be answered by another 10th grader or a 12th grader. Michal claims students all over the world have one common trait – they help each other in doing homework and answering each other’s doubts.

“By engaging students into that collaboration online, we take every question and answer, and store it in our knowledge base. So in a way, we are extracting the smartness of every child who uses Brainly. We make it accessible to everyone, no matter where they are or how much money they have,” he adds.

To ensure the quality of interactions and accuracy of answers, Brainly moderates all the content with their own algorithm. Users can also rate the answers.

In addition, experts also review the knowledge base to check the quality. If they are not satisfied with the quality of the answer, they ask the person who gave that answer to improve it (with explanation). If there is still no improvement, Brainly removes that answer from the database, Michal says.

India’s push for education

India focuses greatly on education in general, which means the rise of edtech companies is not surprising. Michal says Brainly has been looking at the India market since 2014.

“The market is huge in India. People here are more willing to pay for education compared to most other markets; the highest spends from parents’ salaries often go into their children’s education. There is huge pressure on students to succeed. Using Brainly expands their knowledge and reduces frustration,” he points out.

In Brainly’s survey of more than 10,000 users in India (in January 2019), more than 50 percent students said their schools were not helping them enough to prepare for their careers and the real world, and hence they needed additional resources. They were striving to attain a deeper understanding of subjects, and more than 40 percent respondents started using Brainly to go beyond homework assignments. Around 12 percent students claimed that they started using Brainly because their grades were suffering and they needed additional support.

Brainly is a peer-to-peer platform where students can help each other online. (Image: Shutterstock)

Brainly had also asked what sources of information are referred to by teachers – digital or offline. Apparently, digital is picking up now. “Our users in Bangalore are using us almost every day. The most popular subject among Indian users is maths,” Michal tells YourStory.  

Plan for India

Brainly’s strategy is to build the student community and work on the content to ensure best quality. But India poses many challenges. For instance, internet penetration is still poor in some areas outside metro cities. Michal says their engineering team, comprising 65 people, is constantly working to ensure that their app runs well and fast even in areas without 4G.

On the other hand, Michal claims Brainly had to spend little on marketing in India. “We did some digital marketing to gain visibility initially. But our growth is mostly organic. Students often refer us to each other; sometimes they search for information online and then they find us. The bigger the knowledge base gets, more people come in,” he says.

Since schools in India do not follow one unified syllabus, Brainly does not follow a specific curriculum. The company wants to have the highest coverage of all school subjects.

In a multi-lingual society like India, regional language content is essential for the penetration of online education platforms. (Image: Shutterstock)

Venturing beyond English speakers

The majority of Brainly’s current user base in India is English speaking. As part of their expansion plan in India, they have launched in Hindi, and will soon launch in Bengali and Kannada.

Michal explains the strategy. “Giving content in local language is central in education. We take into account the size of that particular language-speaking community, popularity of the language, and internet penetration in the region of those language users, so that we can scale up.”

But home tutoring is the norm among school children in India. Can Brainly beat this competition with local language content? Michal says that for offline interactions (like home tutoring), the cost is higher since the student or the teacher needs to travel. “With tech, you can create a knowledge base, and give access to students free of cost,” he remarks.

Even though they make tutoring jobs obsolete, Michal feels that tech platforms like Brainly improve the quality of education. He elaborates, “Students routinely have to attend home tutoring after school, then do homework for school, and study on their own for understanding the topic. We make that learning more efficient by helping them understand topics faster.”

Michal hopes that one day “Brainly” will replace the word “Brainy”. “When a student is smart, he is a Brainly one!” he says.

Source: https://yourstory.com/2019/03/polish-edtech-startup-brainly-ykhsxy9ni6

betterU Education Corporation $BTRU.ca Has Been Advised That Closing of US$100 Million Investment Is Around the Corner $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:41 AM on Monday, August 13th, 2018

Betteru large

  • betterU has worked diligently to support the closing of the investment and continues to receive regular updates from TU Capital Co. Ltd. (“TUC”) on their progress
  • The CEO of TUC has confirmed that the fund management team have been in Tokyo Japan for the last couple of weeks and that they have executed on the final agreements for release of funds

OTTAWA, Aug. 13, 2018 – betterU Education Corp. (TSX-V:BTRU) (FRANKFURT:5OGA), (the “Corporation” or “betterU”), would like to provide an update on the investment progress.

betterU has worked diligently to support the closing of the investment and continues to receive regular updates from TU Capital Co. Ltd. (“TUC”) on their progress. The CEO of TUC has confirmed that the fund management team have been in Tokyo Japan for the last couple of weeks and that they have executed on the final agreements for release of funds. According to TUC communications shared with betterU, the Chairman of TUC has also agreed to stay in Tokyo until the fund transfers have been completed. “While these delays have been difficult for everyone involved, we are confident that the funding completion is closer than ever. The ongoing updates, progress reports and discussions from TUC has demonstrated their commitment to completion.” says Brad Loiselle, President and CEO betterU.

While betterU continues to support TUC’s timelines, the betterU team has also continued to advance their global partnerships, the development of new technology, the adding of more educational providers to their platform, the participation in global speaking engagements and much more. Stay tuned for more announcements as it pertains to these advancements.

The majority shareholder’s approval has been provided the Corporation. The consummation of any financing, as contemplated, remains subject to TSXV approval, and among other conditions of the TSXV’s approval.

About betterU

betterU, a global education to employment platform, aims to provide access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated education-to-employment ecosystem. betterU’s offerings can be categorized into several broad functions: to compliment school programs with flexible KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to provide access to global educational opportunities from leading educators, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.

www.betterU.ca and www.betterU.in

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information, which may involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with betterU’s growth, the state of the financial markets, regulatory risks and other factors. There can be no assurance or guarantees that any statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, betterU disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers should not place undue reliance on any statements of forward-looking information that speak only as of the date of this release. Further information on betterU’s public filings, including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements, are available at www.sedar.com.

For further information, please visit  https://ir.betteru.ca/investor-overview/press-releases/

On behalf of the Board of Director,
better Education Corp.
Brad Loiselle, CEO

For further information:

Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100 Ext. 233
Email: [email protected]

betterU Education Corporation $BTRU.ca Announces Increases in Monthly Traffic Metrics to India Marketplace, Including 3,200% in Site Visits $ARCL $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:49 AM on Friday, June 8th, 2018

Betteru large

  • Announced increases across all traffic metrics following the successful launch of its’ national mass marketing print campaign in India in February;
    • Website visits increase 3,202%
    • Registrations increase 2,920%
    • Courses taken increase 4,966%

OTTAWA, June 08, 2018 — betterU Education Corp. (the “Company” or “betterU”), is pleased to announce increases across all traffic metrics following the successful launch of its’ national mass marketing print campaign in India in February.  Highlights include the following:

METRIC JANUARY
(ACTUAL)

Pre-Marketing
FEB/MAR/APRIL
(AVERAGE / MONTH)
Post-Marketing
%
INCREASE
Website Visits 2,637 87,091 3,202%
Registrations 29 876 2,920%
Courses Taken 15 760 4,966%
Chats 37 693 1,772%
Social Impressions 27,222 1,151,648 5,471%

 

METRICS DEMONSTRATE POWER AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING PROGRAMS

The Company successfully launched its full-scale mass marketing print campaign across India through Hindustan Times, Hindustan and The Mint on February 19th to coincide with the Prime Minister of Canada’s visit to India for the Global Business Summit on February 23rd and 24th, which included over 2,000 delegates and 400 CEO’s from around the world.

On March 1st, 2018 the Company announced a significant increase in visitors to its’ platform, as well as, incoming calls and partnership requests.  As a result, betterU continued the national marketing campaign to grow awareness, partnerships and, most importantly, revenue streams.

Brad Loiselle, CEO of betterU stated “These increases in key metrics from just our first three months of marketing speak for themselves and bode well for our anticipated growth throughout 2018 and beyond.  Like all marketing, we expect our metrics to grow stronger every quarter as our brand awareness compounds amongst our target markets, leading to strong and robust business growth for years to come.  To this end, we are already preparing for major hiring to support our business growth and will have more to say about this in the very near future. ”

About betterU

betterU, a global education marketplace, aims to provide access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated education-to-employment ecosystem. betterU’s offerings can be categorized into several broad functions: to compliment school programs with flexible KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to provide access to global educational opportunities from leading educators, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.

www.betterU.ca and www.betterU.in

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information, which may involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with betterU’s growth, the state of the financial markets, regulatory risks and other factors. There can be no assurance or guarantees that any statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, betterU disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers should not place undue reliance on any statements of forward-looking information that speak only as of the date of this release. Further information on betterU’s public filings, including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements, are available at www.sedar.com.

For further information, please visit  https://ir.betteru.ca/investor-overview/press-releases/

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
betterU Education Corp.
Brad Loiselle, CEO

For further information:
Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100 Ext. 233
Email: [email protected]

betterU Education Corporation $BTRU.ca Provides Update on Closing of US$100 Million Investment $ARCL $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:17 AM on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018

Betteru large

  • Chairman of TUCapital, Kenny Ho, has confirmed to the Corporation that TUCapital has been established and that they have executed on the Subscription Agreement as of April 3rd, 2018
  • betterU’s Board of Directors Chairman Tony Keenan is currently in Guangzhou, China with Mr. Ho coordinating the details of the fund transfer
  • Expected to be within the upcoming 2-3 weeks subject to banking and legal requirements

OTTAWA, April 03, 2018 — betterU Education Corp. (TSX-V:BTRU) (FRANKFURT:5OGA) (the “Corporation” or “betterU”) is pleased to provide an update on the closing of the US$100M equity investment last announced on February 8th, 2018.

The Chairman of TUCapital, Kenny Ho, has confirmed to the Corporation that TUCapital (the ‘Fund’) has been established and that they have executed on the Subscription Agreement as of April 3rd, 2018. betterU’s Board of Directors Chairman Tony Keenan is currently in Guangzhou, China with Mr. Ho coordinating the details of the fund transfer which is expected to be within the upcoming 2-3 weeks subject to banking and legal requirements. The Corporation had previously announced that the agreements were to be completed by the end of March; however, deals of this size and nature do involve many people from multiple countries, processes, paperwork, banks and legal approvals which has had an impact on timelines. The Corporation has also been working with their own legal and banking teams in preparation for receipt of funds. Once funds have been received, the Corporation will update the market to the issuance the shares, subject to legal and governing body approvals.

The consummation of any financing, as contemplated, remains subject to TSXV approval, and among other conditions of the TSXV’s approval, disinterested shareholder approval.

About betterU

betterU, a global education to employment platform, aims to provide access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated education-to-employment ecosystem. betterU’s offerings can be categorized into several broad functions: to complement school programs with flexible KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to provide access to global educational opportunities from leading educators, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.

www.betterU.ca and www.betterU.in

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information, which may involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with betterU’s growth, the state of the financial markets, regulatory risks and other factors. There can be no assurance or guarantees that any statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, betterU disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers should not place undue reliance on any statements of forward-looking information that speak only as of the date of this release. Further information on betterU’s public filings, including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements, are available at www.sedar.com.

For further information, please visit https://ir.betteru.ca/investor-overview/press-releases/

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
better Education Corp.
Brad Loiselle, CEO

For further information:

Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100 Ext. 233
Email: [email protected]

betterU $BTRU.ca Update on Proposed Equity Investment by Hindustan Times $ARCL $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:06 PM on Monday, January 29th, 2018

Betteru large

  • Provides update regarding the proposed $1,250,000 equity investment by HT Overseas
  • Purchase of 3,205,128 common shares of the Corporation at $0.39 per share
  • HT has been working towards receiving all necessary approvals from India’s government authorities to complete the transfer of funds from India to Canada

OTTAWA, Jan. 29, 2018 – betterU Education Corp. (TSX-V:BTRU) (FRANKFURT:5OGA), (the “Corporation” or “betterU”), is pleased to provide the following update regarding the proposed $1,250,000 equity investment by HT Overseas Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of HT Media Limited, (“HT”) for the purchase of 3,205,128 common shares of the Corporation at $0.39 per share (the “Private Placement”). The Private Placement and agreement with HT was previously announced on December 21, 2017.

HT has been working towards receiving all necessary approvals from India’s government authorities to complete the transfer of funds from India to Canada. The first of eight proposed tranches of Private Placement is expected to close on February 5, 2018.

About HT and HT Group

HT Group has built a Pan India reach via its various print, radio and digital properties.  The combined reach is an astonishing ~10% of Indian population.  In print alone, HT Group’s Hindustan Times (English medium); Hindustan (Hindi medium), Mint (English Business daily) give a combined readership of over 29.9 million.  This readership is multiplied significantly through HT’s radio channels (104 Fever and 107.2 Nasha) which have a dedicated audience of over 21.7 million in Delhi, Kolkata, UP, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and the Indo Gangetic belt.  This is further complemented by HT’s digital presence including hindustantimes.com; livehindustan.com; livehindustan.com; desimartini.com and shine.com.

Geographically, HT Group has the following reach:

  • In the West, HT is able to reach 7 million population in Mumbai through their highly recognised Brands in Print (HT/Mint), Radio (Fever/Nasha) & Digital
  • In the North, HT Group’s mediums directly touch “8 out of every 10” population in Delhi NCR.  Print readership of around 4.3 million complemented by leading radio channels such as 104 Fever and 107.2 (giving an additional audience of 8.1 million) makes HT Group a clear leader in the Delhi NCR region.

Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 and the flagship publication of HT Media. Hindustan Times is one of the largest newspapers in India, by circulation. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations and it has a circulation of 1.16 million copies as of November 2015. HT is one of the top most widely read English newspapers in India. It is popular in North India, with simultaneous editions from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi and Chandigarh.

About betterU

betterU, a global education marketplace, aims to provide access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company’s vision is to help foster the equalization of education for all by bridging the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its learners by developing an integrated education-to-employment ecosystem. betterU’s offerings can be categorized into several broad functions: to compliment school programs with flexible KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to provide access to global educational opportunities from leading educators, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.

www.betterU.ca and www.betterU.in

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which include completion of the proposed Investment, the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Investment, the development and expansion of betterU’s operations, and other matters. There can be no assurance that the Investment will be completed as proposed or at all. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as “may”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe” and “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, which contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, the development of competitive technologies, the marketplace acceptance of betterU’s products, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of betterU. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, betterU disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, betterU undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. Further information on betterU’s public filings, including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements, are available at www.sedar.com.

For further information, please visit  http://www.betteru.ca/investor-overview/

betterU Education Corp.
Brad Loiselle, CEO
On behalf of the Board of Directors

For further information:
Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100 Ext. 233
Email: [email protected]