Nigerian ed-tech startup Edustripe has developed school management software that helps learning institutions digitalise various aspects of their operations, and is already in use in dozens of schools and by hundreds of parents.
Founded in March 2019 by Tolu Odueke and Babajide Esho, Edustripe has developed a platform that helps schools and parents manage educational fees, access loans, monitor grades, and create custom teaching plans.
“We help to improve already existing educational systems, making them more efficient, fast and 100 per cent stress-free. Our tools are built into one simple, flexible and reliable platform,” Esho, the startup’s chief executive officer (CEO), told Disrupt Africa.
The first gap the Edustripe team spotted was that there few not enough ed-tech companies helping users solve problems that cut across every aspect of their daily lives, and those that do exist have not yet reached scale.
“Although platforms like Edves have over 400 schools on their platform, they do not command up to one per cent of the total addressable market in Nigeria, and they are the biggest ed-tech platform in the country,” Esho said. “Another competition in our market is Schoolable, who have a strict focus on education financing, but we are of the belief that more could still be done in helping customers solve problems they have and helping them achieve their educational goals.”
This approach has met with a positive response thus far.
“Uptake has been very encouraging, as we have been able to work directly and indirectly with over 500 parents and 60 schools with our different products. We graduated our first cohort of 50 students in our TechTeens Summer Bootcamp where we introduced teens to different technology concepts, and we have seen increased need from parents for more virtual content to keep learning ongoing with the current pandemic,” Esho said.
All of this while self-funded and bootstrapped. The startup, which charges subscription and commission fees, is planning on creating more educational content for its platform, and to expand to more Nigerian states. Esho said it also hopes to move into three additional African markets by 2023. For this, however, Edustripe will need investment.
“We are looking for venture funding as we would like to raise a seed round,” said Esho.
“We have tried to build the business up until the point where we are attractive to investors, and it would be a real delight and pleasure if we are to get some seed funding.”
