Launch Africa Ventures is one of the most prolific investors in African early stage startups so far in 2021. The venture capital firm appears not to be stopping any time soon, including most recently participating in a $575,000 seed funding round in Nigerian online school enabler, Edves.
The investment round, which was oversubscribed, was headed by Beta Venture. Previous investors Chinook Capital and Future Africa are among the other investors.
This new fundraising round, according to the announcement, would help Edves to strengthen its products by allowing the launching of new offers to address new customer needs in the Nigerian market and important segments in other African markets.
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In 2018, Chinook Capital and CcHub’s Growth Capital announced a seed round investment of $120,000 in the startup. In Nigeria, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, the company automates learning, with over 790 schools using the program.
Why The Investors Invested
Ovo Emorhokpor, a general partner at Beta Ventures, stated that his company’s mission is to assist entrepreneurs and exceptional African enterprises that offer genuine value to Nigeria and other African communities in regards to the funding. He said:
“We have witnessed Edves firsthand and seen how they deliver on their promise to digitize the learning process in and out of the classroom in Africa. We are thrilled to be part of their journey as they scale their offerings and expand into new markets.”
Zachariah George, managing partner of Launch Africa Ventures, feels that the investment was critical in encouraging digital teaching and learning among Africa’s youth, who make up approximately 60% of the population.
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“Schools all over the continent need easy-to-use, secure learner management software that encompasses all school needs by addressing specific challenges with capturing data, paperwork, and improving every area of school operations,” he said.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Founded in 2016 by Sunday Falana and Dare Adebayo, Edves is a cloud-based software platform for school management. It offers a comprehensive set of services that enable schools to manage report cards, fees, digital learning, student enrolment, and more.
Parents can also use the portal to check information about their children or wards, as well as pay fees. Because not all parents are computer aware, these facts can be accessed via text, email, an app, or the website itself.
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As part of its digital infrastructure efforts, the organization also allows instructors, parents, and administrators to collaborate on students’ progress toward learning goals, as well as track and analyze learning results.
online school Edves online school Edves