South African edtech startup has raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by LocalGlobe boost to accelerate the global adoption of its Whatsapp and Facebook-based learning chatbot.
Other investors who participated in the funding round include Emerge Education, Odunayo Eweniyi via FirstCheck Africa, Iyin Aboyeji via Future Africa, and LoftyInc, alongside angels from Luno (Marcus Swanepoel) and Justworks (Isaac Oates). They join XX accelerator, the startup’s first backer.
Founded in 2020 by Dacod Magagula and Tao Laine Boyle, Foondmate supports students with their revision exercises by providing prompt answers to questions and access to revision papers, while also guiding them in responses to questions.
The startup targets high-school students in emerging markets where Whatsapp is widely used and is a lot cheaper or free to access. Its learning chatbot is easy to use, affordable, and acts as an organized alternative to using search engines for study. Educators also use FoondaMate’s integrated resources to set and post homework and to share other learning materials with students.
So far, Foondmate has been adopted by more than 400,000 students in more than 10 languages in over 30 countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia – where the startup recently launched and has seen a surge in usage.
Speaking about plans for the startup, CEO, Dacod Magagula stated that the startup is presently striving to localize its learning materials to make room for learners in more countries and fuel the growth of its platform to more than 50 million users. Its recent funding provides the resources needed for this rapid take-off.
“Initially I thought FoondaMate would be used by students who do not have access to Wi-Fi and those with limited access to the internet. But reality is, it is being used by those with good internet connectivity too…because it’s really an easy and intuitive way to access study material,” he said.
LocalGlobe partner, Ziv Reichert said, “FoondaMate’s viral growth strongly reflects how well the product resonates with learners and speaks volumes to Dacod and Tao’s deep understanding of their users’ needs.
“Having initially launched with a mission to transform how students across Africa study, FoondaMate has evolved into a tool that is now used and loved by learners from a range of backgrounds, with varying needs and learning styles, from all across the world. We believe that it takes immense empathy for a problem and a real long-term view to build a product of this kind,” said Reichert.
