Klas, a Nigerian Edtech startup platform that allows anyone to start an online school and deliver live classes, has announced the raise of $1 million in pre-seed funding.
The funding round was led by Ingressive Capital, with participation from Techstars, HoaQ Capital, and several angel investors.
Speaking on its investments in Klas, managing director of Techstars Toronto Sunil Sharma said,
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“It has been a rewarding experience to have invested in Klas at the earliest stage of the company based on the core abilities of the co-founders Nathan and Lekan and the vision they set for the company. This confidence was further demonstrated by our follow-on investment in the company, something we like to do when presented with exceptional opportunities.”
Founded in 2022 by Nathan Nwachuku and Lekan Adejumo, Klas enables users to create and sell ebooks, courses, and live classes. The platform offers essential class components such as scheduling, payments, community features, analytics, and video conferencing, catering to various subjects from coding and design to finance, art, and languages.
The platform also enables creators, trainers, and professionals to monetize their knowledge and for anyone to acquire tailored knowledge through courses, live classes, and ebooks.
Today, Klas boasts a user base of over 5,000 online schools (creators), which have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars on the platform and 300,000 learners spanning over 30 countries.
Currently facilitating transactions in naira for Nigerian users and dollars for those outside Nigeria, the edtech startup aims to amplify its international presence, focusing on India, its second-largest market, and North America, where the incumbent players in the industry have the bulk of their customer base.
The move aligns with the startup’s strategy to address currency devaluation concerns, and it includes plans to enhance user experiences through localized currency options in various countries.
Unlike Edtech platforms like Udemy and Skillshare which focus on pre-recorded courses, Klas has set itself apart by enabling users to create, monetize, and host engaging live classes. Klas takes a more all-in-one approach to online teaching while remaining simple and intuitive for everyone.
Creators can accept payments from students globally, manage their classes, offer online tests, and connect their favorite tools from Klas integration store. The Edtech startup aims to power up to 100,000 online schools globally by 2027, while it presently provides a free plan with a 5% transaction fee.
Although positioned as a cost-effective alternative to other platforms like Kajabi and Thinkific (whose prices range between $49-$399), Klas, in a bid to boost its revenues, may become as pricey in the coming months, introducing an enterprise product targeted at upskilling employees in large companies at $199 per month.
The company’s mission is to empower everyone to teach engaging online classes. With over 125,000 students and 2,200 online academics, Klas is on the move to powering the upskilling economy.