A Nigerian edtech startup, Teesas has raised $1.6m in a pre-seed round of funding. The round was led by Haresh Aswani, Tolaram Group’s Africa managing director, with the participation of Olivegreen Advisory Partners, an Africa-focused venture studio, and other angel investors.
Teesas, a two months old startup is a learning platform that delivers subscription based lessons using live and recorded video formats.
Speaking on the investment, Haresh Aswani, Tolaram Group’s Africa managing director expressed confidence and belief in Teesas,
We believe in the mission Izedonmwen and the Teesas team has set forth on, and we are confident that they are best suited to crack the challenge of using technology to enhance access to quality education across Africa.”
Haresh Aswani, MD, Tolaram Group Africa.
150,000 downloads in 2 months
Teesas was officially launched less than two months ago, as the brainchild of Osayi Izedomwen. Product development on the platform started in March 2020 last year, beta testing commenced in August 2021 and the full launch of the android based mobile application took place in November.
The difference in the time of product development and the official launch can be accredited to Osayis decision to study the edtech space using India as a model. According to the startup, since the launch of the mobile app, it already has 150,000 downloads and a weekly growth rate of 20 percent.
Teesas, currently operating on the Nigerian educational curriculum, runs a subscription program at a minimum of 6 dollars, about 2,500. Students learn remotely via live and recorded lessons.
Live classes deal with concepts where learners have challenges. The learners sit with teachers in small remote classes of 10 or 15 for a personalized engagement, and to get more rigor into the teaching process,”
Osayi Izedonmwen
In addition to regular school work, the startup also offers local language classes. The indigenous adaptations on the app include the use of local art, food, animals, cultural practices and languages to complement the learning process.
Teesas also has a companion app for parents called the Teesas Parents that provides personalized content recommendations and real-time feedback on their child’s performance.
New markets in Francophone, East, and Southern Africa.
With the new investment, Teesas is set to launch a marketplace that will link learners with tutors for private lessons, and expand the range of products in its portfolio.
In the future, Teesas will offer full-curriculum modules for learners aged up to 12 years that will help them study enough to be ready for their secondary school entrance exams.
“We foresee a future where kids don’t have to attend in-person classes because they can cover entire curriculums on an app, and be ready enough for their secondary school entrance exams,”
Teesas is also set to introduce life-skill classes in the first half of next year to prepare learners for self-discovery. This is in addition to anti-bullying lessons, inspired by the reports of the increasing spate of bullying in Nigeria, with some incidents leading to death.
The CEO Osayi also confirmed that the next part of their next plan will be to enter new markets in Francophone, East, and Southern Africa. He is also very confident in the success of the startup that operates in the space with big players such as Edukoya and ULesson.
Teesas is going to have the biggest impact on the future of education in Africa.
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