AltSchool, a Nigerian startup that helps people learn technological skills, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to expand its efforts in training junior to mid-level engineers.
The new funding will be utilized to increase investment in content and curriculum, as well as technology infrastructure and a community idea that allows students to meet offline to network and study together.
The firm offers a solution as an online school with a curriculum to upskill non-technical people with technical and soft skills, in partnership with higher education institutions to award diploma certificates.
The company, which was founded by Adewale Yusuf, Akintunde Sultan, and Opeyemi Awoyemi last October, has received funding to sponsor students through the program from tech and music celebs such as Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, co-founder and CEO of Flutterwave; Shola Akinlade, co-founder and CEO of Paystack; and music stars Falz and Ajebutter22.
Voltron Capital, Nestcoin, Pledges, and Odba VC are among the investors in this round.
Yusuf attempted to form a real campus where he and his team could train software engineers in 2020, and that’s when the AltSchool Africa journey began. They met with university officials at Obafemi Awolowo University, but the plan fell through.
The team subsequently turned its attention to its firm, TalentQL, and its product Pipeline, which helped mid-level engineers in becoming senior engineers and finding jobs in international companies.
To make its previous idea work, the team eventually shifted to a remote-centric approach rather than a physical one. AltSchool Africa was born as a result of this.
AltSchool Africa has received 8,000 applications from 19 countries for their software engineering program, which will begin in April 2022. (including 5 from outside Africa).
The funds will be used to expand AltSchool Africa’s curriculum, technology infrastructure, and community concept for students to learn and network offline.