Two Indonesian Education Startups Get Investments Early This Year

Indonesian education startups Titik Pintar and Zenius received fresh funds in early 2021. Titik Pintar obtained investment from the Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund (IWEF), while funding to Zenius was led by OpenSpace Ventures and Alpha JWC Ventures.

This is the first time for Titik Pintar to obtain institutional investment from IWEF. Previously, this startup received grants from the Dutch government, as well as investments from individual investors (angel investors) in Indonesia and abroad.

Titik Pintar plans to use the fresh funds to improve services to children, parents, and teachers. In addition, increasing the collection of interactive lessons and educational videos through the SahabatPintar.id website.

“With the support of IWEF, we are committed to developing better products for elementary school children in Indonesia,” said founder and CEO of Titik Pintar, Robbert Deusing, quoted in a press release, Tuesday (12/1). IWEF is managed by Moonshot Ventures and YCAB Ventures. The Australian Government is also the main sponsor and investor of IWEF.

Launching SahabatPintar.id Containing Learning Content for Elementary School Students

Titik Pintar provides an EduTainment ecosystem, including customized self-learning services and remote micro-lessons from teachers. The material is in Indonesian and English. Lessons and videos are made directly by the teacher on the SahabatPintar.id website.

That way, teachers can get additional income. Meanwhile, children and parents can independently organize the learning experience and content needed. Currently, Titik Pintar has more than 15 thousand users. “With the support of strategic partners, we are sure to continue to grow and reach 250 thousand users this year,” said Robbert.

The startup also launched SahabatPintar.id, a website that contains educational content intended for Elementary School (SD) students. Elementary school teachers and students throughout Indonesia can access various subject matter according to the national curriculum at SahabatPintar.id for free.

Titik Pintar invites designer teachers and animators to collaborate through SahabatPintar.id to produce educational content that is interesting and easy to understand. The birth of the SahabatPintar.id platform is a form of Titik Pintar’s commitment to providing quality educational content for elementary school students in Indonesia, whose number exceeds 25 million children.

Robbert Deusing, CEO of Titik Pintar, explained, “Through the launch of SahabatPintar.id, Titik Pintar is committed to providing convenience through technology for both teachers and students in obtaining quality educational content.”

Moonshot Ventures Co-Founder Tom Schmittzehe added that most teachers in Indonesia are women. “This is what IWEF aims for empowerment. Through Titik Pintar, they can earn additional income, while still doing what they love, namely teaching, “he said.

Zenius also Obtained Pre-Series B Funding

Another educational startup, Zenius, also received pre-series B funding from OpenSpace Ventures and Alpha JWC Ventures last week (5/1). The fresh funds will be used to develop services and applications.

“We are working to develop new features that will help students get the best learning outcomes through technology, as soon as possible,” said CEO Zenius Rohan Monga, quoted from a press release, Tuesday (5/1).

Online learning services like Zenius are in demand during the corona pandemic. This prompted the company’s revenue to grow by 70% on an annual basis (year on year / yoy) more during the second half of 2020. Users also grew more than 10 times from March to December last year.

User retention also reaches more than 90%. The company said, almost half of its revenue comes from the live class segment. Meanwhile, the presence of users in each class averages 400 students.

Based on research by Google, Temasek, and Bain and Company, education applications in Southeast Asia were downloaded 20 million times during January-August. Chief Investment Strategist Temasek Rohit Sipahimalani had predicted that investors would focus on startups in the edtech, health (healthtech) and financial technology (fintech) sectors.