Naspers yesterday announced that it has led a $540m (R7.72bn) investment in Indian educational startup BYJU’S, a learning app for primary and high school pupils in India.
“The investment will drive the BYJU’S team to further innovate, explore and set new benchmarks for tech-enabled learning products,” said Naspers in a media statement.
A “significant portion” of the investment is being contributed by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.
The group’s app offers “personalised learning programmes” for pupils in grades 4 to 12 in India.
According to Naspers, since it was launched in 2015, over 30 million pupils have used BYJU’S learning app with over 2 million cumulative annual paid subscriptions.
Byju Raveendran, the founder and CEO of BYJU’S, said in a statement the group’s goal was to create the world’s largest education company.
“India has the largest population attending primary school in the world and Indian households are willing to invest a lot in their children’s education because a good education is viewed as the best path to success. I believe the importance of quality education amongst the entire population in India fueled our ability to create an engaging and high-impact learning app.”
As part of the investment, Russell Dreisenstock, head of international investments at Naspers Ventures, will be joining the BYJU’S board.
Founded more than 100 years ago, Naspers has transformed itself from a newspaper publisher into an $87 billion empire, thanks to its one-third stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent.
Naspers shares weren’t trading on Monday due to a public holiday in South Africa.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of the world’s biggest investors, is expanding its interests in India due to the country’s young population and growing middle class, its chief executive said last week.
Other investors in Byju’s include Tencent and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a charity founded by Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.
