Pune based education technology startup, AlmaMapper, has raised about $400K (INR 2.6 Cr) in seed funding from Oswal Techno Ventures LLP. The startup will use the proceeds of the funds raised to scale up operations by entering new markets within India and across the world.
AlmaMapper was founded by Pankaj Kaul in 2011 along with Chandra Mauli Sharma, a fellow alumnus of the Institute of Management, Nirma University. The team bootstrapped the product development with extensive research over the next 3 years and launched in August 2014. In the last one year, the AlmaMapper team has grown to 10 members.
The platform offers a free student utility platform that aims to provide an online ecosystem connecting students, teachers and campuses. The platform aims at solving everyday problems of students globally, be it seeking advice, knowledge sharing or staying abreast of all campus events.
Pankaj stated that currently the startup which has operations in Pune, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad, will use funds to scale up pan-India operations and launch a mobile app this month. “ We are signing MOUs with 2-3 institutions daily and by the next two quarters, we aim to be present in 10 cities. By the end of next year, we aim to have about 500k users on our platform. The best part about the platform is that it helps colleges with a much needed digital footprint and that too free of cost. From revenue perspective, we have started tying up with strategic vendors that offer products & services focused at the student community.”
“The mobile app shall be a vital addition, in terms of user feedback and would serve as the base to expand our line of products next year. The idea is to be a complete digital ecosystem aggregating the silos in the education industry.” said Chandra, the COO of the company.
Currently, the platform has a base of over 50,000 users and has offices in Pune and Ahmedabad. It has been tying up with strategic vendors which offer products and services focused at the student community. It has signed memorandums of understanding with more than 40 colleges and institutes such as Bharti Vidyapeeth, Navrachana University, ICFAI and St Xaviers among others.
As per an IBEF report, India’s education market is worth $100 Bn (INR 65k Cr), of which higher education services account for about 60%. Consequently, the sector is witnessing a lot of innovation as well as investment. Last month, Dell Foundation backed India Educational Investment Fund (IEIF), invested an undisclosed amount in two Indian education technology startups namely Report Bee Edusys Pvt Ltd, a cloud-based deep learning portal and Guru-G Learning Labs (India) Pvt Ltd, a gamified platform for teachers.
Besides that, Delhi-based online education startup EduKart, which helps students in connecting with educational institutions, raised $1 Mn in a fresh round of funding from Yuvraj Singh’s venture capital fund YouWeCan Ventures, United Finsec and 500 Startups in June this year. Similarly, Acumen Fund, which is a social venture capital investor had also invested in two Hyderabad-based educational startups namely, Ignis Careers with $250K and Standard of Excellence in Education and Development(SEED) with $650K in May this year. Other education technology startups that raised money this year include e-learning startup Sigrid Education and Hubli-based LabInApp.
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