Kinobi, a Singapore-based college-to-career network, today announced a US$1 million seed round funded by an unknown Indonesian corporate venture capital company.
Several regional family offices and angels also joined.
Kinobi will utilise the funds to expand its network of academic partners in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Kinobi, which will launch in 2021, seeks to aid Gen Z adolescents with the “last-mile” of their education, assisting them in making the transition from formal school to a vocation.
The firm also provides a SaaS platform for universities and career centres to track and measure their students’ job preparedness and report the results to the board of directors and the government.
Kinobi claims to have served over 150,000 students and 51 universities in Southeast Asia, including 23 universities in Indonesia, to date.
“We’re merely scratching the surface in Jakarta and Manila. The hunger from students to succeed drives me every day to build a product so good that it helps them succeed better,” said Benjamin Wong, co-founder and CEO of Kinobi.
“Career success is more important for Gen Zs than any other generation. They have more debt, fewer earnings and higher unemployment,” stated the company. “There is also tremendous stress on university and career centres by governments and parents to perform and show that the earned degree is worth its value.”
Among Kinobi’s partners are major private colleges including Singapore Management University, Singapore Institute of Management, and PSB Academy.
According to Google, TEMASEK, and Bain & Company’s e-Conomy report 2021, edutech in Southeast Asia had a high development potential in H1 2o21 with US $200 million in financing. Scaling, on the other hand, remains a major difficulty, as this sector need a country-driven approach to education.
