How EdTech platform ConveGenius used WhatsApp to provide learning to 10M rural students in India

The Dell-Foundation-backed startup, ConveGenius during the pandemic shifted to WhatsApp chatbots-assisted learning from tablet-based learning. The outcome- in just seven months it scaled from half a million students to 10 million students.

As a part of the COVID-19 pandemic response, ConveGenius has been focusing on emerging markets and is striving to leave no learner behind. The startup’s unique WhatsApp-based EdTech model allows it to reach students from all walks of life in collaboration with several low-fee private schools across India and the state governments.

The company now has 5 million active users in the country, across some of the most remote parts of India. With an average of approximately 10 million daily messages, the startup’s work has made a positive impact on students across the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh. Building on this momentum, the startup is envisioning 20X growth by March 2021.

ConveGenius’s WhatsApp-based model that runs on WhatsApp Business API has actively promoted student participation. With its personalized learning platform and AI-based assessment, students completed more than 70 million weekly learning transactions using ten vernacular languages. With 95% of students completing their modules in all partner states, the startup boasts of a high student-engagement rate.

The company’s WhatsApp-based EdTech platform is quite intuitive and engaging where students feel as if they are chatting with their teachers. The real-time learning insights that are generated through the platform are used by the company to make its teaching and learning processes more robust while aiming to pave the way for transformational reforms in the education system across the nation.

Founded in 2013, by Jairaj Bhattacharya and Shashank Pandey, ConveGenius focused on building a tab-based learning solution in the initial two years. Their product CG-Slate was well-received by low-fee private schools, government schools, and after-school learning centers across 16 states in the country. The startup then partnered with Lava and Samsung to pre-install its software and curated content from a few companies likes Pratham Books, Chippersage, Mexus Education, and so on.

In 2016, the startup moved from a tab-based approach to an app-based one. The company operated as a social enterprise that would adopt government schools and integrate its learning software into its curriculum.

The startup focuses on cultivating and providing affordable educational solutions to create impact in large volumes. The startup’s core competence lies in building mobile games/products/apps catered for local and global markets likewise. It is dedicated to provide quality education to children by integrating technology with education and working with state governments to penetrate the semi-urban and rural areas of India. For its various high-end educational solutions, the company also aims to cater to the urban market using e-tailing and retailing channels.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for the educational sector to accelerate a digital presence has been magnified. Startups like ConveGenius are trying to make a difference here by providing a set of adaptive and personalized learning solutions for students that can be accessed anytime, anywhere- either offline or online, at home or school.