Startup Review: Tuteria is Helping People Learn Formal and Informal Skills

Tuteria is an edtech startup that was launched in 2015 by Godwin Benson and Abiola Oyeniyi. Already 5 years old, Tuteria is the Uber for tutors in Nigeria.

Overview

Tutors are needed regularly for upskilling in some professional areas, preparing for exams or learning new skills. For Tolu’s mom, getting a qualified tutor to help her son become better in maths, biology and chemistry ahead of his WASSCE exams has been a challenge.

Her problem is not finding a tutor but finding one who can teach her son absolutely well. Sometime back when her daughter wanted to learn baking, finding a tutor that would teach without subjecting her to the substandard treatment most apprentices go through was also a challenge.

This is the problem that Tuteria solves as a startup in Nigeria’s edtech space.

Services Tuteria renders

Through its web platform, people can make requests for tutors in different areas and have qualified people recommended to them. There are tutors for exams like IELTS, TOEFL, WASSCE and NECO as well tutors that are hired to help kids get a better grasp of subjects they are taught at school.

Skills like makeup artistry, baking and others also have registered tutors who can teach them. From the site, you can select any area you need help in and request a tutor. I created an account and typed mathematics in the search box.

You are expected to submit details such as the class of the student, objective of the tutoring, where you live, and if you have a gender preference for the tutor. There is the option for online as well as physical tutoring.

Before tutors can be added to the network, they are required to fill an application form and undergo a vetting process before they can register into any area of specialization.

The services provide a way to get quality tutoring while also creating an avenue for tutors to make money by sharing knowledge. Payment is not made to the tutor until all the tutoring has been completed per session. Sessions can range from hourly to monthly.

Pricing

The tutors set their charges on the platform for the subjects they teach. The charge is usually hourly and some courses come with discounts. Tuteria’s revenue comes from each booking in the form of service fees which usually range from 3% to 5%. Larger tutorial bookings incur lesser processing fees while bookings under N20,000 incur the standard 5% service charge.

Tutorial bookings between ₦20,000 and ₦50,000 get the 4% service fee, while those above ₦50,000 get the 3% service fee.

Funding history

Tuteria has had 5 funding rounds in total since it launched in 2015. They amount to a total of $97,500 excluding the grant from Pitch@palace whose amount was not disclosed.

The companies that have funded the startup include Facebook, Microsoft, African Innovation Foundation and Royal Academy of Engineering.

It won the Royal Academy of Engineering prize for engineering innovation in 2016 for the different and innovative approach to education and received a $25,000 grant as a result.

Tuteria vs competitors

Ulesson, Gradely and Traindemy are some of Tuteria’s competition in the edtech space. Its approach is different from the others because it does not offer lessons directly but offers tutors who can give the lessons to students.

Tuteria also has a more diversified offering compared to the others. Ulesson provides courses for secondary school students and only recently added a Junior Secondary School library. Gradely provides personalized online tutoring for students and sometimes gamifies the teachings.

Traindemy on its part offers courses that equip learners with skills such as tailoring, makeup, and the likes. It does not have a focus on formal education but leans more on the informal skills that can be taught by craftsmen and artisans.

An advantage Tuteria has is that it provides a blend of formal and informal learning and gives the opportunity to learn offline as well as online. Ulesson started in March 2019 and has a mobile app in addition to its online platform. The web app is Tuteria’s only offering to date.

Though its website is the primary source of contact between tutors and learners, Tuteria’s model of providing vetted tutors makes it possible to effectively learn more.