EduOne, a South African edtech startup, has been acquired by education finance and education fund management company Fundi.
Founded in 2015 by Jason Basel and co-founders James Kieser, Pieter Strydom and Ben Rath, EduOne is a suite of digital education products ranging from information websites to scholarship management platforms.
In 2016, Fundi became EduOne’s largest stakeholder. With the acquisition, EduOne’s career guidance tool, EduConnect into has been integrated into Fundi as FundiConnect.
“Students simply did not have enough information or support to make decisions about their further education and their careers. At 17 years old, few people even know who they are, never mind who they wanted to become,” said CEO and Cofounder of EduOne Jason Basel.
He adds: “This acquisition means that Fundi can reach its audiences with unprecedented scale and depth of value going forward. As a united team, we’re on the same page, have the same mission, and are looking forward to an exciting and successful future together”.
CEO of Fundi Makgu Dibakwane said: “EduOne has been a natural next-step for Fundi. The essential philosophy of making education ‘a reality’ is a core element of Fundi’s DNA – making this partnership so exciting for us as a growing business,” Dibakwane said.
According to Dibakwane, Fundi plans to integrate other key services, such as education financing offerings, an online shop, and a bursary finder. This will mean that a student’s journey will be fully digitised: covering all their needs from school right through to getting a job – no matter where they find themselves.
