ABOUT UOLO
Uolo is a learning organization with the mission of enabling schools all over India to raise students who are prepared for the future and have cutting-edge skills. To do this, they offer academic in-school courses in key subjects like English communication, coding, etc. This makes it possible for schools to guarantee the overall growth of their students. Their smart school platform also aids in the efficient and effective administration of schools.
The Gurugram-based firm creates and offers specialized learning curricula for English speaking and coding. These apps are accessible to students on their parents’ smartphones. The startup described its business plan by saying that it uses appropriate technology to instruct students in HTML, Java, and Python programming. Additionally, it introduces students to blockchain and artificial intelligence as well as modern technology tools like Figma and Canvas.
In accordance with the computer science and English curricula at the partner school, the company provides learning programs in coding and English speaking. Uolo intends to expand its STEAM curriculum offerings in the upcoming months.
EXPANSION AND GROWTH
The business, which has 350 employees, intends to use the funding to expand its learning programs with STEAM-related courses over the next few months and reach 50,000 schools in India over the following four years. For the latter, it seeks to collaborate with organizations focused on education as well as individuals and groups creating top-notch content.
“India’s initial wave of ed-tech startups has shown that there is a market for online learning. They lacked an economical distribution, though. We predict that a new generation of ed-tech businesses will be able to establish organic, inexpensive distribution, enabling students to study for $10 per year as opposed to $10 per hour. According to a prepared statement by Winter Capital’s managing director Anton Farlenkov, “Our investment in Uolo is based on our faith in this type of firm.
FUNDING
The great majority of ed-tech businesses use a business-to-consumer strategy and invest in advertising to connect with the student’s parents and guardians. “The reality is that K–12 kids do not have much time left after a few hours of play, rest, and required schoolwork. The use of cell phones at home can help the ed tech solutions magnify the results on top of the usual six hours spent in class. Edtech businesses are struggling due to a lack of alignment with schools and expensive prices, according to Pallav Pandey, CEO of Uolo.
Uolo, which was established in September 2020 by Pandey and his brother Ankur, today covers 3.7 million kids and has partnerships with more than 8,500 schools in India. In a funding round led by UAE-based VC fund Winter Capital and new Dubai-based fund Morphosis Venture Capital in addition to Uolo’s current backers, Uolo, an Indian ed-tech platform that collaborates with private K–12 schools to provide online learning programs to middle- and low-income families, has raised $22.5 million.
Due to a number of causes, including the market downturn, the launching of new schools and colleges, low investor sentiment, and global disruption, India’s ed-tech sector funding increased to $2.1 billion from $4.73 billion in 2021, startups downsized their operations and fired more than 7,500 full-time and contract staff as of the beginning of 2022.