Edtech startup Shikho raises $1.3m to expand Bangladesh operations

Shikho, a Bangladesh-based education technology (edtech) startup, announced raising $1.3 million in seed funding that will be used to accelerate product development and further expand in its home country.

The funding round was co-led by LearnStart, the seed fund of Learn Capital, and early-stage venture capital investor Anchorless Bangladesh. Wavemaker Partners and Ankur Nagpal, founder and CEO of Teachable, also participated in the funding round.

Prior to this round of financing, Shikho raised $275,000 in pre-Seed financing from LearnStart and strategic angel investors.

Founded in April 2019, Shikho is an edtech company building a hyper-localized digital learning ecosystem centered on modernizing the delivery of the Bangladeshi National Curriculum and making it fit for the 21st century.

The company adapts material from the national curriculum, helping students using the app to transition more easily to online learning environments by engaging them with the material they are already accustomed to in traditional classrooms.

Shikho will use the proceeds from the financing to accelerate product development and bring on new hires as they continue to expand at a time where demand for digital education has consistently risen throughout the pandemic.

In the future, the company plans to expand its offerings to cover the entire educational journey of Bangladeshi students across primary, secondary, tertiary, and continuous professional learning.

“By building a digital learning ecosystem that caters to the modern Bangladeshi student and democratizes access to a world-class and enjoyable learning experience, we believe Shikho will have a powerful and lasting impact for generations to come,” said the company’s co-founder and CEO Shahir Chowdhury.

Shikho now plans to continue building advanced features for its learning app, including personalization, granular data analysis, live quizzes, and introducing a new web portal and parent app. Through the web portal, users will enjoy a seamless experience between their mobile phones and larger screen desktops and laptops.

LearnStart, the co-anchor in this funding round, is the seed fund of Silicon Valley based global education technology investment specialists Learn Capital. Learn Capital is a venture capital firm focused on breakthroughs in education technology. It has invested early in 50+ global category-leading companies including Coursera, Udemy, VIPKID, Nerdy (Varsity Tutors), Andela, Minerva, Brainly, Higher Ground Education, Photomath, Teachable, and many others.