#11: African EdTech & lessons from Byju's - The story of the world's most valuable EdTech company & the emerging opportunities for technology to scale education across Africa
Afrobility: Africa Tech and BusinessPlay episode
Show notes
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Byju's & Edtech in Africa. We'll start with some context about African education, discuss Byju's success in India as a reference point, major edtech African players & the future of the African edTech ecosystem
Companies discussed: Byju’s, Naspers, uLesson, Kio Kit / BRCK, Gebeya, Ubongo, M-Shule, BeBlocky, Elham Inspire, MySkoolPortal, Tuteria, MTN, Vodacom & ZEduPad
Business concepts discussed: Educational technology, Africa infrastructure development, product localization, new product development, technological leapfrogging & equity fund raising
Conversation highlights:
(02:21) - Why the Byju’s story is important to Africa (03:35) - What is “EdTech” & what are the different segments? (05:41) - Context of education in Africa pre-colonial and colonial influence (08:44) - Challenges with formal education in different African countries (18:12) - Challenges for EdTech in Africa (20:35) - India education & Byju's background (25:53) - Byju’s growth, localization, expansion & fundraising (33:31) - Byju’s today (35:20) - How can EdTech be adapted to African conditions? (39:54) - Profiles of EdTech companies in Africa (55:45) - uLesson overview & similarity to Byju’s (01:05:17) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (01:11:55) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (01:17:41) - Bankole’s recommendation and small wins (01:23:08) - Olumide’s recommendation and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: TEDx - The Importance of Education | Edna Adan Ismail Small win: Spending hours getting lost on Byju's YT channel
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: The Book of Why by Judea Pearl Small win: Got a Whoop Band this week - it is an always-on, no-display, no notification wristband that tracks performance and recovery metrics and transmits to your phone. Other content mentioned: How Indian Tutoring App Provider Byju’s Got So Big | EdSurge News - link Other content mentioned: Lagos and Manila: A Tale of Two Cities | bankole.org - link Other content mentioned: 94 companies from Y Combinator’s Summer 2020 Demo Day 2 | TechCrunch - link Other content mentioned: Electricity and education: The benefits, barriers, and recommendations for achieving the electrification of primary and secondary schools | UNDESA - link
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