10 Minute School Raises $2 Million In Funding Led By Sequoia India's Surge Funds will be utilized to invest in product, technology, and talent acquisition across both Bangladesh and India
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10 Minute School, on Tuesday announced to have raised $2 million of seed funding from Surge, Sequoia India's rapid-scale up program. This investment makes 10 Minute School the first EdTech company in Bangladesh to secure funding from Surge. Funds will be utilized to invest in product, technology, and talent acquisition across both Bangladesh and India.
"We have experienced an unprecedented 12 times business growth in our platform in 2021 during the pandemic, and our users have also commended the app and its learning content. Sequoia Capital India's Surge joining us as our first investor has been a very rewarding experience for the team, further validating our vision for democratising access to high quality education for all in Bangladesh. We want to double down on our growth trajectory this year while creating an unparalleled learning experience for our students," said Ayman Sadiq, founder and CEO, 10 Minute School.
The pandemic has turbocharged online education in Bangladesh, with offline institutions and exams being put on hold since early 2020. To ensure that students could continue learning despite the lockdown, the company launched some of its first premium courses and books during this time. 2021 marked a significant year of growth for 10 Minute School, with more than nine million new learners joining the platforms, eight million learning hours delivered, and another 17,000-plus new videos added to its learning ecosystem. The app has recently surpassed three million users, making it the largest learning app in the country, said the company in a statement.
Founded by Ayman Sadiq and Abdullah Abyad Raied in 2015, 10 Minute School is on a mission to democratise education for all in Bangladesh. Access to quality teachers has been one of the longest-standing challenges for students across the country. 10 Minute School is part of Surge's sixth cohort of 20 companies that build fresher, smarter solutions to help consumers and businesses adapt to a changing world. Students from classes 1-12 can advance their learning using resources like videos, mock exams, lecture sheets, and notes that have been developed by experts over the years. 10 Minute School sees an immense opportunity to help support the existing education system of the country, which has 43 million students today. The team also aspires to contribute to the upskilling of its significant youth population of five million, leading to increased employment and demographic dividends for the country. The company plans to launch live coaching classes for students from classes 5-12, test paper courses for HSC and SSC examinees, complete admission and BCS programmes, a whole series of interactive academic books for classes 3-12 and 25 more sought-after upskilling courses in the first quarter of 2022.
