South African edtech startup FoondaMate has raised $2 million in seed funding in a round led by UK-based LocalGlobe.
A previous backer, XX accelerator, also participated in this round with Emerge Education; Odunayo Eweniyi via FirstCheckAfrica; Iyin Aboyeji via Future Africa; and LoftyInc. Angel Investors like Marcus Swanepoel of Luno and Isaac Oates of Justworks also contributed to this round of funding.
FoondaMate’s plans for the funding
Co-founder Dacod Magagula said FoondaMate has a target of 50 million users—a staggering goal compared to its current 400,000+ users. To achieve this, the startup will localise its learning material to include learners in more countries. So far, FoondaMate is live in over 30 countries including Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia, using over 10 languages.
How the ed-tech works
The edtech uses Whatsapp and Facebook-based learning chatbots to help high school students with revision. It gives students access to revision papers, guides to answering questions, and immediate answers to questions when prompted. Educators also use FoondaMate’s integrated resources to share other learning materials with students and to set homework.
Magagula said the technology acts like an organised search engine. Apparently, it was designed for students in Africa who have limited access to the internet but now is being used by those with good internet connectivity too.
