FoondaMate, a South African ed-tech startup, has secured US$2 million in seed funding in order to use its AI-powered learning platform to overcome global education inequality gaps.
LocalGlobe led the round, which included Emerge Education, FirstCheck Africa, LoftyInc, Future Africa, Marcus Swanepoel, co-founder of Luno, and Isaac Oates, co-founder of Justworks.
FoondaMate, a chat-based, AI-powered learning bot founded by Dacod Magagula and Tao Boyle in August 2020, lets students gain fast, easy, and safe access to study materials and help via open chat platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
More than 400,000 students across 30 countries use the bot and its user base has more than doubled in the last six months due to virality.
“At FoondaMate, we believe that while talent is distributed evenly, opportunities are not. There are many conflicting variables that contribute to educational disparity around the world, not just in Africa, and our technology is helping to solve them all. It’s gratifying to think that so many learners put their faith in us to help them pursue their passion for learning, and it’s a responsibility we take very seriously. “We’re ecstatic to have investors who share our enthusiasm and belief in the ability to change how and where students study,” Magagula said.
After securing a US$2 million seed round, FoondaMate is now looking to expand.
FoondaMate plans to use the funds to expand its team, with a special focus on engineering and product development, as well as expand into other markets.
The first of these regions is Indonesia, where FoondaMate is now in beta, followed by Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, and Brazil.
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