uLesson, a Nigerian ed-tech firm, has raised $15 million in Series B investment, which it will use to expand its workforce and improve services for its expanding community of African learners.
uLesson, founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneur Sim Shagaya, provides elementary and secondary school students with live online classrooms with experienced instructors, video lectures, and customised live homework help through its website and app.
uLesson, which is available in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, the United States (US), and the United Kingdom (UK), had a 430 percent growth in daily average users in 2021, with positive learning results.
In January of this year, the business raised a US $7.5 million Series A round, and within a year, it had moved on to Series B with a US $15 million investment. Nielsen Ventures and Tencent are among the investors, as are current backers Owl Ventures, TLcom Capital, and Founder Collective.
uLesson intends to use the funds to continue investing in product development, enhance its core technology, and expand its cohort-based learning capabilities. In addition to its core scientific and mathematical material, the firm will expand its secondary level content library to include social sciences and financial accounting, as well as qualitative and quantitative reasoning at the elementary level.
“We’re thrilled to achieve this major milestone which will take us further in bringing high quality and affordable education to all Africans. We’re delighted to be joined by seasoned investors, like Tencent, who brings a wealth of experience from their investments in education technology. Backed by incredible partners, we can accelerate our learning to serve the African edtech market more effectively,” said Shagaya.
Founder Collective managing partner David Frankel expressed his belief that entrepreneurs can transform the world and expressed his optimism that uLesson will establish new standards for education in Africa.
“The incredible talent on the continent has been held back for too long by a lack of opportunities. So I couldn’t be a more enthusiastic supporter of Sim Shagaya and his vision for more accessible and affordable educational opportunities for millions of people,” he said.
