Kibo, an online school that will provide STEM degree programmes to students in Africa, has acquired $2 million in seed funding headed by Neo, a venture capital firm founded by the co-founder of Code.org. Additionally, Future Africa, Pledges, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Transcend Network, and a number of angel investors participated in the round.
After last year’s pre-seed round, the latest funding takes the total capital raised by the business to $2.4 million.
“The primary goal for the seed round is to get the degree program off the ground. We have been doing these short classes, and we’re going to keep doing them and going through the process of applying for accreditation. But our primary focus now is bringing in students for our degree programs,” Ope Bukola, co-founder and CEO, said.
Why The Investors Invested
Some of the co-founders had previously worked in the edtech space. Ope Bukola, Keno Omu, and Rob Cobb were once employed by the edtech firm. While Omu is a former dean at Africa Leadership University, Cobb is a former curriculum engineer at Make School and a master teacher at Flatiron School.
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The startup has also previously garnered considerable traction. According to the CEO, the school has trained 400 students in 13 African countries through short courses begun last year..
In April of this year, Kibo won the GSV Cup, one of the world’s largest edtech pitch contests, validating its focus on STEM.
“There are so many young people getting into the technology workforce, and I really think the continent could be the place for young technologists, if only our education system was up to the task. Our mission at Kibo is to provide a better alternative to traditional education,” said Bukola, who is also the CEO at Kibo.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Ope Bukola, Keno Omu, and Rob Cobb founded an online school in 2021 that will provide multiple STEM degree programmes aimed at African students.
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On Monday, June 20, the school launched the application window for its inaugural full-time Computer Science degree programme, with the goal of attracting 100 students in the first cohort of the three-year degree programme, which will cost students a total of $6,000.
Woolf, a collegiate institution in the United Kingdom, has accredited the programme. Students enrolling at Kibo will earn European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits as a Woolf member, which are transferable throughout the globe.
Kibo has opened up the programme to students in six locations across Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, and individuals who enrol must live at least 100 kilometres away from these cities in order to facilitate occasional meet-ups. Beginning next year, the school intends to develop new programmes and accept new students every quarter.
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“It’s an online degree, but we have target cities because it’s still really important to help students build community. So, in every city where we’re enrolling students, there’s going to be an advisor on the ground, who will organize meet-ups every month,” said Bukola.
Kibo’s learning is controlled rather than self-paced, as is the case with most online courses, and students are required to engage on collaborative projects. They are also assigned professional mentors and must complete internships before graduating. The school has also made agreements with various organisations to provide its students with internships and part-time work.
Kibo online school Kibo online school
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh