Investment to be utilized for product development and expansion
Bengaluru, January 17, 2017: Education startup Curiositi Learning Solutions has raised Series A funding from Menterra Social Impact Fund. Curiositi develops learning programmes that uniquely integrate the benefits of activity-based learning with personalized software. Existing investor, Unitus Ventures also participated in the round.
Co-founded by Manoj Thandassery, Vinod Abraham and Satish Hariharan, Bengaluru-based Curiositi currently has over 20,000 paid subscribers benefiting from its science and mathematics programme. The company plans to cater to 100,000 students in two years as it works towards the goal of impacting a million students.
The Curiositi School Program offers children in schools a new way of learning Science and Math that goes beyond textbooks – students work on physical models and activity kits in both the subjects. These activities are closely linked to specific concepts being introduced in that class, and help transform the curriculum to activity-based learning, reinforcing learning and resulting in improved learning outcomes.
“Over three years, we developed an exciting, comprehensive activity-led programme for these subjects that are effective, teacher-friendly and affordable for schools,” said Manoj Thandassery, co-founder, Curiositi Learning Solutions. “The addition of the mobile-first app helps us impact learning at home for the first time, and the data analytics generated provides tremendous opportunity to discover and correct learning gaps in the classroom.”
This funding along with strategic support and industry connections will help the enterprise expand its operations to more schools, increase learning outcomes and provide a comprehensive solution that enables experiential learning in the classroom.
Featured in:
“We believe that hands-on engagement and activity-based learning are critical for strong conceptual understanding. Particularly for fundamental skills like STEM skills, an early emphasis on actual understanding as against rote-learning will be key to developing the kind of problem solving abilities required in 21st century careers. By democratizing access to these kinds of activities and this type of education, Curiositi is enabling students in all types of schools to be better prepared,” said Maya Chandrasekar, Practice leader – Education and Skills, Menterra.
“This round is a validation of Curiositi’s offering and the impact it has created in improving learning outcomes for more than 25,000 students. The new capital will help in accelerating the product development and fuel expansion to over 100,000 students in the next two years”, said Srikanth Iyer, Venture Partner, Unitus Ventures.
Thandassery added, “We are excited about the opportunity to create impact at scale. India has the world’s largest cohort of school-age children, and we are deeply excited by the opportunity to bring improved learning outcomes in an affordable and exciting manner to children in India.”
About Unitus Ventures
Unitus Ventures is the leading impact venture fund investing in startups innovating for the masses in India. Unitus invests in sectors including healthcare, education, mobile & consumer, retail & ecommerce, financial services, and agriculture. Founded in 2012, Unitus Ventures is managed by Capria Ventures which is part of the Unitus Group, a premier financial services group operating in India and other emerging markets since 2000. Unitus Ventures is based in Bangalore and Seattle, and is a member of the Capria Network. More about Unitus Ventures >
About Menterra
Menterra Social Impact Fund I is an impact investment fund that invests in early-stage social enterprises working in the sectors of education, health, and agriculture. It offers startups funding of Rs 1 crore to Rs 4 crore at the critical early stages of a business, where there is currently little funding available. Menterra collaborates closely with social enterprise incubator Villgro to support and fund for-profit social enterprises operating in India. More about Menterra >
